Overview
CBO Releases Score for AHCA: Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an estimate of the budgetary effects of the American Health Care Act (AHCA), House legislation that would repeal the Affordable Care Act. CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimate that enacting the legislation would reduce federal deficits by $337 billion over the 2017-2026 period. They also estimated that in 2018 14 million more people would be uninsured under the legislation than under current law. That number would increase to 21 million in 2020 and then to 24 million in 2026. With respect to the cost of premiums, CBO and JCT estimate that average premiums for single policyholders would be 15% to 20% higher than under current law in 2018 and 2019.
IRS Provides Guidance for US Citizens Living Abroad: Today, the IRS released two pieces of guidance for citizens or residents of the United States living abroad. Notice 2017-21 provides adjustments to the limitation on housing expenses for purposes of section 911 for specific locations for 2016. These adjustments are made on the basis of geographic differences in housing costs relative to housing costs in the United States.
Revenue Procedure 2017-26 provides a waiver for the time requirements for individuals electing to exclude their foreign earned income under section 911, who must leave a foreign country because of war, civil unrest, or similar adverse conditions in that country. The revenue procedure adds South Sudan to the list of countries for which the minimum time requirements are waived.