Got help paying for health care? Watch your mailbox

WASHINGTON (AP) - If you're among the millions of consumers who got financial help for health insurance last year under President Barack Obama's law, better keep an eye on your mailbox.

The administration said Monday it has started sending out tax reporting forms that you'll need to fill out your 2014 return. Like W-2s for health care, they're for people who got health insurance tax credits provided under the law.

Because this is the first time Americans will experience the complex connections between the health care law and taxes, there's concern that some people may not realize the new forms are important, and that they do need to open that envelope. Some consumers may not know what to do with the paperwork.

Called 1095-A, the forms come filled out with information from HealthCare.gov or your state's insurance exchange. They list who in each household got subsidized coverage, and how much the government paid each month to help with premiums.

You don't actually file the form with your tax return, but you can't complete your return without the information it contains.

Taxpayers, or their tax preparers, will use the financial details to fill out yet another form - 8962. That one is used to determine whether people received the right amount of assistance that they were legally entitled to.

The amount of the tax credit is based on a formula that takes into account income, household size, and health insurance costs in your community.

Those who got too much of a subsidy will get their tax refunds reduced by the IRS. For example, you can get dinged if your income went up during the year, and you didn't realize you had to report that to HealthCare.gov or your state insurance exchange.

If you received less of a subsidy than you were entitled to, the IRS will owe you instead.

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Got help paying for health care? Watch your mailbox

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