INSURANCE REQUIRED 

 

The Affordable Care Act requires most people to pay a penalty if they do not have health insurance. By 2016 the penalty will be $695 per person or 2.5% of income, whichever is higher. You may be exempt from the penalty if the lowest-priced coverage available to you would cost 8% or more of your income, if your income is below the minimum required to file a tax return, or in certain other circumstances.

 

HEALTH CARE SHARING EXEMPTION  

 

Members of a health care sharing ministry like Medi-Share are also exempt from the penalty if the ministry is an (a) independently audited (b) nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that (c) has been in existence since 1999 and (d) whose members:

 

• Share a common set of ethical or religious beliefs;

• Share medical expenses among members in accordance with those beliefs; and

• Retain membership even after they develop a medical condition.

 

Members of all three of the ministries compared on this site qualify for this exemption. 

 

TAX DEDUCTIONS  

 

Minimum monthly contributions are not deductible for federal income tax purposes.

• Because minimum contributions are a condition of membership, they do not qualify as deductible charitable donations.

• Because ministries are neither health care providers nor insurance carriers, contributions are not deductible as medical expenses or self-employed health insurance premiums.

 

Extra giving or sharing is generally tax deductible as charitable donations if sent to the ministry and not to an individual member. Please talk to your tax advisor or review IRS Publication 526 for details.