How Much Is The Penalty For Not Having Health Insurance In 2018

The 2018 Fee/Penalty Imposed For Not Having Health Insurance

Congress enacted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act back in December of 2017. And it eliminates the individual health insurance mandate imposed by the Affordable Care Act. But, unfortunately, the provision doesn’t take effect until 2019. And individuals and their dependents, that are not otherwise considered exempt from the mandate, are still required to have at least minimum health insurance coverage in 2018.

The amount of the penalty for not having the required health insurance coverage is either a flat dollar amount or a percentage of your household income, whichever is greater. For 2018 the flat amount penalty is $695.00 per adult. And it is $347.50 per child under the age of 18. There is a maximum of $2,085.00 per family. The percentage penalty is 2.5% of your household income. But you would need a fairly large household income to be subjected to the percentage penalty.

What Are Some Of The Exemptions For The Affordable Care Act Penalty?

If you were in a situation where you were uninsured for less than three consecutive months during the calendar year.
You were exempt from filing a tax return because you had an excessively low income for the year.
You have been outside of the United States for more than one year.
Your religion objects to the use of insurance.
The most affordable coverage available for you and your dependants cost more than 8.13% of your annual household income.
You qualify for a hardship exemption because you were homeless, involved in an eviction, you filed bankruptcy or some other similar situation.

How Are Health Insurance Rates Calculated?

Health insurance rates can vary widely among what initially appears to be an endless amount of insurance companies. And there are many risk factors that are utilized in calculating your rates. But it still boils down to the fact of, the riskier that you appear, the more you will be charged for coverage.Insurance companies utilize a range of data to determine what rates to charge each individual and/or family. And some of those factors include:

Geographic Location – Where you live has a large effect on your premiums. And market competition and local regulations may account for some of it.
Your Age – The older that you are, the more you will most likely pay in premiums. And depending on your age, you could pay 3 times more than someone younger.
Tobacco Use – Insurers may charge tobacco users up to 50% more than those that don’t use tobacco.
Individual or family Enrollment – Insurers may charge more for plans that include coverage for a spouse and/or dependents.
Plan Category

And because of the Affordable Care Act, no additional factors can affect the cost of your health insurance plan, besides any savings that you may receive from subsidies and/or tax credits.