When you do not have your family enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) the Department of Defense (DoD) cannot accurately report your healthcare coverage to the Internal Revenue Service.
Starting last year, the DoD reported health care coverage of its service members and their dependents to the IRS. This report allows the IRS to determine which families had minimum essential coverage (MEC) as required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).
For tax purposes, individuals and family members are identified by their Social Security Numbers (SSN). If a sponsor receives a letter indicating that their SSN or a family members' SSN needs to be updated in DEERS please follow the instructions in the letter to ensure your information is correctly reported to the IRS. Those who have not met the MEC requirement will be required to pay a fee for the number of months each family member did not have coverage. If your family information is not reported accurately in DEERS, then your IRS information will be reported incorrectly.
Make sure you go to the right place if you have questions about any required forms you might need. Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy members, retirees and annuitants serviced by Defense Finance and Accounting Services can opt-in to receive their IRS Form electronically via myPay or call 888-332-7411 for assistance. Active duty members and active reservists of the U.S. Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) can call 866-772-8724 or visit their Pay and Personnel Center page. Non-active duty Coast Guard, NOAA, Public Health Service (PHS) retirees, annuitants and former spouses can call 800-772-8274. Active Public Health Service members can call 240-276-8799, email the PHS pay center at compensationbranch@psc.gov or fax an email to 240-276-8817.
For general ACA tax questions, please use the Yellow Pages to contact your local IRS Service Center or go to www.irs.gov/aca.
