Millions of Americans paid nearly $2 billion in penalties in 2014 because they did not have health insurance, says a new report from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
In 2014, 8.1 million Americans paid $1.7 billion to the IRS under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise colloquially known as Obamacare. This is more than what the tax collecting agency initially projected.
At the time, the fine was $96, or one percent of the reported adjusted gross income. This year, the penalty will have spiked to a flat payment of $695, or 2.5 percent of gross income. As of next year, the penalty will be tied to inflation.
“Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act required that individuals must have had health care coverage, qualified for a health coverage exemption, or made a shared responsibility payment with a tax return,” the IRS said. “A health care individual responsibility payment was made on 8.1 million returns for $1.7 billion, an average of $210 per tax return paying this penalty.”
It was first estimated that 7.5 million Americans would pay $1.5 billion in penalties.
It’s the government making these forecasts so of course they would be wrong.
Hmmm, I know of a young business man who went to the local health ( obamacare ) provider and was told that he didn’t qualifiy for health insurance because he didn’t make enough income ( he’s never married, 30 something and runs his own business ).