800K HealthCare.gov customers given wrong tax info

WASHINGTON (AP) — About 800,000 HealthCare.gov customers got the wrong tax information from the government, the Obama administration said today, and officials are asking those affected to delay filing their 2014 returns.

The tax mistake is a self-inflicted injury that comes on the heels of what President Barack Obama had touted as a successful enrollment season, with about 11.4 million people signed up.

California, which is running its own insurance market, on Thursday announced a similar problem affecting about 100,000 people in that state.

The errors mean that nearly 1 million people may have to wait longer to get their income-tax refunds this year. And they could also affect the size of those refunds.

Another 50,000 or so who already filed may have to resubmit their returns.

Federal officials also announced today a special sign-up extension for uninsured people facing the health care law's tax penalties for the first time this year.