What Is The Penalty For Not Having Health Insurance?
If you can afford health insurance but choose not to buy it, you must pay a fee called the individual shared responsibility payment. You might also see it referred to as the "penalty," "fine," or "individual mandate." But you may be wondering, "Which costs less, health insurance or the penalty?" That is a good question since the decision of whether you will purchase health insurance for 2016 needs to be made NOW. If you want coverage to begin January 1, 2016 your last day to sign up is December 15th. Also, many people are under the false impression that the tax penalty is only $95 and that it's cheaper to pay the penalty rather than purchase health insurance. So what is the tax penalty for not having insurance in 2016? Let's find out. As the table above shows, you will pay… Either a fixed fee OR a percentage of your income, whichever is greater . The fixed fee penalty usually hits low income families...