You no longer pay a tax penalty (fee) for not having health coverage. If you don’t have coverage, you don’t need an exemption to avoid paying a penalty when you file taxes.
You need an exemption if you are age 30 or older and want to enroll in a “catastrophic” health plan. A catastrophic health plan offers lower-priced coverage that primarily protects you from high medical costs if you sustain a serious injury or injury. learn more about catastrophic plans.
Reading: What is the penalty for not having insurance
You must apply for a waiver to qualify. you will need to file an exemption application and obtain an exemption certificate number (ecn) to enroll in the “catastrophic” health plan.
If you are under 30 years old, you do not need an exemption to enroll in a catastrophic plan.
See also: Major Medical Health Insurance Plans
There are 2 types of waivers: affordability and hardship.
affordability exemptions (related to income)
You may qualify for this exemption if the lowest-priced coverage available to you, either through a marketplace or a job-based plan, would cost more than 8.09% of your household income.
See also: What is the difference between liability and full coverage insurance
get the application form and instructions.
how long do affordability exemptions last?
- affordability exemptions cover months into the future and can last until the end of the calendar year.
- if you want an affordability exemption for the entire calendar year, you must request it before March 1, January. of that year.
- If you need this exemption for months in the past, you can request it when you file your tax return.
hardship exemptions
You may qualify for this exemption if you had a financial hardship or other circumstances that prevented you from obtaining health insurance.
what counts as difficulty?
- You were homeless.
- Evicted or facing eviction or foreclosure.
- Received a shut-off notice from a utility company.
- experienced domestic violence.
- experienced the death of a family member.
- experienced a fire, flood, or other natural or man-made disaster that caused substantial harm to your property.
- you filed for bankruptcy.
- had medical expenses you couldn’t pay that resulted in substantial debt.
- experienced unexpected increases in necessary expenses due to caring for an ill, disabled, or elderly family member.
- claims a child as a tax dependent who has been denied Medicaid coverage or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (Chip) and another person is required by court order to provide medical support to the child.
- as a result of an eligibility appeal decision, you are eligible to enroll Enroll in a health plan through the Marketplace, lower costs for your monthly premiums, or cost-sharing reductions during a period of time when you were not enrolled in a qualified health plan through the Marketplace.
- You were found ineligible for Medicaid because your state did not expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act.
- You had another hardship. if you experienced other difficulty obtaining health insurance.
See also: What is the difference between liability and full coverage insurance
get the application form and instructions.
how long do hardship waivers last?
hardship waivers generally cover the month before the hardship, the months of the hardship, and the month after the hardship.
but, in some cases, the marketplace may provide the exemption for additional months, up to a full calendar year.
- For individuals who are ineligible for Medicaid only because a state has not expanded Medicaid coverage, the hardship waiver will be granted for the entire calendar year.
- For eligible individuals for Indian health services, the hardship exemption lasts as long as you remain eligible.
- for individuals under the age of 21 who are eligible for an exemption due to religious conscience, they will need to reapply if they remain members when they turn 21.
Are there exemptions if I’m unemployed?
No, there is not an exemption based solely on employment status. however, you may qualify if you have any of the other difficulties listed on this page.
See also: How Long Does a Car Insurance Claim Take To Settle?
