Tag Archives: Poverty

Turbo Tax launching an Online ACA Calculator

Turbo Tax launching an Online ACA Calculator

Turbo Tax 2014 is set to launch new online calculators. These calculators are meant for the calculation of subsidies that you are entitled to when you get insurance cover as well as how much premium you are supposed to pay. The new insurance plans have been made possible by the Affordable Care Act that allows low income earners to get health care by paying low premiums.

Turbo Tax launching an Online ACA Calculator

A CNN poll conducted in March of 2010Citation needed, days after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law found nearly 3 in 5 Americans were opposed to the legislationClarify. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are four categories that are offered by the insurance exchanges. You will get various types of benefits depending on the coverage that you choose and your income level. They include; gold plans, silver plans and catastrophic plans that are offered to the low income earner below the age of 30.

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How the Turbo Tax 2014 Calculator Works

The Turbo Tax 2014 calculator is user friendly in its design. There are various settings and inputs on the left and to the right there are running totals. The particulars input on the left side determine two things; how much you will have to pay or the tax refund you will get.

There are various details required to be entered in the Turbo Tax 2014 calculators in order to determine the eligibility for subsidy. The personal information includes:

  • Annual income;
  • State of residence;
    -ZIP code
  • Whether your employer pays insurance

By entering your information on the left side, you are able to find out what is the best plan for your tax situation. Should you choose to do this manually, it would take a longer time. Therefore, the Turbo Tax 2014 assists in speeding up the process of selecting a decent plan that will not cost you too much in the first couple of years or participating.

The government study that preceded the launch of the Affordable Care Act determined that 90% of those who are above the federal level of poverty are able to pay higher premiums. However, the subsidies only apply to those who do not have health insurance through their employer. Therefore, when filling in your particulars, if you fill in that you receive health insurance on the left side of the 2014 calculator; it means it will not display any subsidy on the right side of the results. It will only display the amount of premiums you are meant to pay.

In case your income is between 133%-399% of the poverty level, then the calculator will show you that your premiums may be at 3%-9.5% of gross income. Anything less than 133% would mean that you get medicaid coverage and therefore do not need to purchase a plan.

You need to note that there is a chance that you may need to include some of your income in the health care calculation. This is because a normal low income house hold spends at least 75% of their income on home expenses. This is why there needs to be some changes in the act in order to accommodate those who are in the low income level of society and give them more in terms of subsidy and less in terms of payment of premiums. Exempting unions and those in congress just isn’t enough of a government benefit for certain parties in the government. This is still under discussion as the rates are not satisfactory to the low income earners who use most of their income for expenses at home.

TaxAct : Pros and Cons

TaxAct

TaxAct : Pros and Cons

TaxACT is now hitting the big time with the promise to file tax free for everyone. This online tax preparation service helps you prepare, print and eFile your federal return for free. You can file prior-year federal and state returns back to 2000 with the help of this service.

TaxACT Logo

TaxACT Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

State returns are not expensive. For additional assistance including prior-year import ability or free phone support, you need to pay for your federal return. This tax preparation service has kept on its edge on the competition by making tax time less troublesome for all taxpayers.

TaxAct provides 3 editions-

  • A free federal edition
  • An Ultimate Bundle for $17.95
  • A Deluxe edition for $9.95

For the free and Deluxe versions, you have to pay an additional fee for state filing, whereas the Ultimate version includes one federal and one state filing. Further, you can avail CD and downloadable software editions that range from $12.95 – $21.95. With this option, you can prepare and print numerous federal returns. TaxACT also helps create an accurate return to the exact dollar amount without any difficulty.

TaxACT can help you through 35 life changes. You can avail TaxTutor Guidance that provides more than 2,500 tax tips. This definitely helps you find out all the deductions and credits that you can claim. The Ultimate and Deluxe versions come with a tool, which tracks charitable donations. Further, it features a tax glossary, which contains definitions for more than 300 tax terms. This helps ensure that you know line items properly.

TaxACT is easy to use even for a first-time filer. Various helpful hints are available. This tax preparation service offers a wide array of audit support, low priced state filing and free federal eFiling options.

However, telephone support is not free. You have to pay minor charges. Further, as compared to other top competitors, their online tax information is brief.

All in all, if you do not need extra assistance, you can go for TaxACT. With the help of their service, you can create accurate returns effortlessly.