FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AFRNS) -- TRICARE officials warn retirees and annuitants that all family members must be enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, or DEERS, to ensure an accurate report for healthcare coverage is provided to the Internal Revenue Service.
Starting last year, the Department of Defense reported health care coverage of its service members, retirees and eligible family members to the IRS. This report allows the IRS to determine which families have basic health-care coverage that meets the Affordable Care Act requirement.
For tax purposes, individuals and family members are identified by their Social Security numbers. If a sponsor receives a letter indicating that their Social Security number or a family members' number needs to be updated in DEERS, TRICARE officials advise sponsors to follow the instructions in the letter to ensure information is correctly reported to the IRS. Those who have not met the minimum essential coverage requirement will be required to pay a fee for the number of months each family member did not have coverage. If family information is not reported accurately in DEERS, then IRS information will be reported incorrectly.
Air Force retirees and annuitants serviced by the Defense Finance and Accounting Services will receive an IRS Form 1095 by Jan. 31 for use when filing their 2016 taxes. For more information about the Affordable Care Act, visit http://www.dfas.mil/taxes/aca/aca_faq0.html. (Courtesy of TRICARE)