The following is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, tax or accounting advice.
The U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) removed the individual penalty for people who don’t have insurance or who can claim a qualifying exemption, such as CHM membership. Therefore, you do not have to include Form 8965 as an attachment to your Federal Form 1040.
This applies to individuals, Medicare participants and group members. (Please note: members who are part of a group may still receive Form 1095 from their employers as part of the law’s requirement; however, these forms can be filed away with your tax records.)
Christian Healthcare Ministries is a federally certified exemption under the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. Visit our Affordable Care Act page for more information, including tax reform info and the exact wording in the law.
Other than in Missouri, which allows a tax deduction for regular monthly financial contributions, CHM members cannot report their monthly financial contributions or CHM Plus contributions as charitable contributions. However, members who contribute to the Prayer Page or make an extra gift above their monthly financial gift may claim these donations as tax deductions. Donations are credited to the year they’re received. Checks mailed in December but not arriving at CHM until January are credited to the new year. Members can use the Member Portal to make donations.
At the time of this writing, CHM members in 2023 gave more than $3 million in charitable donations to Prayer Page participants. Members who made these donations and Missouri members will receive a notice thanking them for their 2023 charitable contributions. This notice is mailed out by the end of January.
While preparing your taxes, please remember what the Bible says in Romans 13:6-7, NIV: “This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”
Electronic (online) filing
If you use electronic software to file your taxes and the software asks you the questions that appear on Form 8965, remember that with the elimination of the individual mandate you no longer have to fill out Form 8965 with your tax return. You can skip this step.
*Members who were part of a group
Please contact your group administrator for tax help. Group administrators with questions should speak to an attorney knowledgeable about both taxes and the Affordable Care Act.
State taxes
Please note that each state has different tax regulations. The following states require all eligible residents to declare annual proof of health insurance coverage on state taxes. Please refer to your states tax resources and your tax professional for additional information about declaring a health cost sharing ministry as your form of health cost support.
- California
- Massachusetts
- Rhode Island
- New Jersey
- Vermont
- District of Columbia
Important note: if you have additional questions about CHM and taxes, please contact your tax professional. Please note that each state has different tax regulations. Refer to information provided by your state for additional information regarding your taxes.
