Decision will be entered for respondent.
PUGH,
Petitioners resided in Georgia when they timely filed their petition. During 2014 and 2015 their adult son Benjamin Gibson, Jr. (Junior), worked at ADT, LLC. At some time during 2014 Junior used an address in Stockbridge, Georgia, (Stockbridge address) which was not petitioners' address. He did not live with petitioners during this time.
Humana Employers Health Plan of Georgia, Inc. (Humana), provided a health insurance policy to Junior for 11 months in 2014. Computer records maintained by the Health Insurance Marketplace, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, show2017 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 187">*188 Junior's application for insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace. The record also includes a copy of the Humana policy covering Junior. A total of $4,628.80 in premiums on the Humana policy was paid through the mechanism of advance payments of the premium assistance tax credit under
Petitioners claimed Junior as a dependent on their joint Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, for 2014.1 They claimed a refund of $6,880, the excess of the tax withheld from their reported income over the tax reported due. They did not report the advance payments of the premium assistance tax credit2017 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 187">*189 on their return. At the time they filed their return they were not aware that Junior had obtained the Humana policy or that the advance payments had been made to Humana in 2014 for Junior's policy. Respondent determined that petitioners' tax should be increased to reflect the advance payments of the premium assistance tax credit to Humana on Junior's behalf during 2014, which resulted in a deficiency of tax that reduced petitioners' claimed refund.
Advance payments of the premium assistance tax credit are made directly to an insurer during the taxable year.
Because petitioners were not entitled to any amount of premium assistance tax credit, the entire amount of the advance payments of the premium assistance tax credit on Junior's behalf to Humana by the Health Insurance Marketplace during 2014 increased petitioners' tax owed and reduced their claimed refund. Respondent determined a deficiency for 2014 on this basis. Petitioners do not deny that their reported income level makes them ineligible for the premium assistance tax credit. They dispute only whether Junior2017 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 187">*191 received insurance from Humana, and therefore they dispute whether any advance payments of the premium assistance tax credit were made to Humana on Junior's behalf. Because they do not raise a point of law or any other factual dispute, we need not delve into the details of the premium assistance tax credit.
*192 Petitioners have denied throughout this case that Junior applied for or received insurance from Humana during 2014. Junior was unable to testify at trial, but he signed an affidavit asserting that he had only employer-provided Blue Cross insurance and that he did not receive a Form 1095-A showing advance payments of the premium assistance tax credit on his behalf to Humana. However, the reliable evidence establishes that Junior's recollection about his insurance coverage was mistaken. The business records from Junior's employer, from Humana, and from the Health Insurance Marketplace establish that Junior's Blue Cross coverage did not commence until 2015, that he was covered by the Humana policy in 2014, and that Humana received advance payments of premium assistance tax credits to offset Junior's insurance premiums. These supporting documents are sufficient to satisfy respondent's2017 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 187">*192 burden of production under
We do not doubt petitioners' testimony that they believed that Junior did not have an insurance policy from Humana. Junior did not reside with petitioners *193 during this period, and we believe their testimony that they were unaware of the insurance coverage and any confirming information that was mailed to him. Because petitioners do not dispute that their reported income level makes them ineligible for the premium assistance tax credit, their tax must be increased, and their refund must be reduced, by the amounts prepaid to Humana on Junior's behalf during 2014.
To reflect the foregoing,