IRS Form 1099-LTC: Long Term Care & Accelerated Death Benefits Help

Insurance companies that pay long-term care insurance benefits or life insurance under an accelerated death benefits clause are required by the IRS to provide claimants with Form 1099-LTC that reports the tax payments made. The report will show all payments made directly to individuals or to third parties on their behalf. Receiving this form does not necessarily mean that you owe the IRS tax on the full amount reported.

The payments received that are indicated by Form 1099-LTC are either long-term care benefits or accelerated death benefits. Payments that are from long-term care insurance contracts are generally excludable as taxable income. These payments will either be paid on a per diem basis (fixed payments made on a periodic basis without regard for actual expenses for the care) or the payments will be reimbursed for long term care costs.

Who Needs to File Form 1099-LTC?

Payers of long-term and accelerated death benefits must file Form 1099-LTC. Insurance companies, governmental units, and viatical settlement providers are the most common examples of payers who would need to file the form.

If you received benefit payments from one of these agencies, the payer will send you a copy of Form 1099-LTC which you will use when filing your annual tax return. Now that you know what Form 1099-LTC is, let’s go over what you should do if you receive one.

What if I Receive IRS Form 1099-LTC?

If you receive IRS Form 1099-LTC, don’t fret, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you will owe taxes to the IRS. The form is primarily used so that your insurance company or payer can notify the IRS that they made long-term care or awarded you accelerated death benefits.

Here’s what you need to do with IRS Form 1099-LTC: To report long-term care or accelerated death benefit income to the IRS, you will need to file Form 8853 along with your federal tax return (Form 1040). Use your copy of Form 1099-LTC to complete the information on Form 8853.

How do I Know if my Benefits are Taxable?

Depending on the type of benefits you were awarded, they may be tax-exempt or partially taxable.

Long-Term Care Benefits

If the payments received are per diem benefits, there is a limit on the nontaxable benefits. The taxable amount of the benefit is generally limited to benefits received that are in excess of the actual long-term care costs.

For example, if the long-term care benefits paid $5,000 for every month that you were hospitalized and the hospital bill for the three months of hospitalization was only $13,000, the taxable portion of the benefits received would be only $2,000. The taxable portion of the benefits received can be calculated using Form 8853. The taxable portion calculated from the form will then need to be entered on line 21 of the Form 1040 when the yearly tax return is filed.

Accelerated Death Benefits

Benefits received for accelerated death benefit plans are fully excludable from your taxable income if the insured has been certified by a physician as terminally ill. This means these benefits will not be taxed when your yearly return is filed.

Final Notes

Receiving Form 1099-LTC in the mail may be intimidating at first glance, but as a taxpayer and recipient of these benefits, you only need to use the information on the form to report payments on your federal tax return.

Do you need help understanding what these benefits can do for you? Community Tax can assist you with any and all tax help you may need. Call today (844) 203-4572 for your free tax consultation.