According to the U.S. Treasury Department, between 3 and 6 million Americans will have to pay an Affordable Care Act tax penalty for not having health insurance last year. The penalty for failing to have health insurance in 2014 is $95, or 1 percent above a certain income threshold, which means that some people will end up owing quite a bit of money.
For instance, a married couple with $100,000 in income would be required to pay nearly $800 according to the Tax Policy Center’s penalty calculator. The penalty for remaining uninsured rises to the larger of $425 or 2 percent of income in 2015. Most Americans, of course, have health insurance. About three quarters of the nation’s 150 million taxpayers have health insurance through their jobs or government programs and will simply have to check a box on Form 1040.
Another 15 to 30 million people will request and be granted an exemption to the insurance mandate by filing Form 8965. Those not subject to the insurance requirement include undocumented immigrants, low-income Americans and those for whom insurance premiums represent more than 8 percent of their household income.
