What is the Fee for Not Having Health Insurance in 2016?

The fee is calculated 2 different ways – as a percentage of your household income, and per person. You’ll pay whichever is higher.

Percentage of income:

• 2.5% of household income

• Maximum: Total yearly premium for the national average price of a Bronze plan sold through the Marketplace.

Per person

• $695 per adult
• $347.50 per child under 18
• Maximum: $2,085

Paying the fee:

• Using the percentage method, only the part of your household income that’s above the yearly tax filing threshold ($10,150 for individuals, $20,300 for couples filing jointly in 2014, the most recent year available) is counted.
• Using the per-person method, you pay only for people in your household who don’t have insurance coverage.
• If you have coverage for part of the year, the fee is 1/12 of the annual amount for each month you (or your tax dependents) don’t have coverage. If you’re uncovered only 1 or 2 months, you don’t have to pay the fee at all.
• You pay the fee when you file your federal tax return for the year you don’t have coverage.

There are a few exemptions to avoiding the tax penalty, but the employee would have to answer specific questions about their household to determine if they would be exempt from the fee. https://www.healthcare.gov/exemptions-tool/#/ .

Medicaid and CHIP coverage is considered qualified health care. Here is the link to see if the employee or their dependents may be able to qualify for Medicaid or CHIP. https://www.healthcare.gov/medicaid-chip/getting-medicaid-chip/

The information was obtained from https://www.healthcare.gov/fees/fee-for-not-being-covered/