The Dummies' Guide to Health Insurance Tax Penalties

- Individuals:

      - 2015: $325.00 or 2% of income, whichever is greater

      - 2016: $695.00 or 2.5% of income, whichever is greater

      - Children 18 and under, the minimum per-person tax is half of that for adults ($162.50). 

      - The tax penalty is pro-rated, so that a person who is not covered for only a single month would pay 1/12th of the tax that would be due for the full year.

- Families:

       - 2015: $975 per family or 2% of family income, whichever is greater

       - 2016: $2,085 per family or 2.5% of family income, whichever is greater

       - The minimum amount per family is capped at triple the per-person tax, no matter how many individuals are in the taxpayer’s household.

- Tax Forms:

        - Those who bought insurance on the health insurance exchanges with the help of federal subsidies will receive a form 1095-A detailed their coverage and have to reconcile their payments with their income level.  HealthCare.gov, the federal exchange that serves 37 states, started to mail out 1095-A forms to customers said all forms should be mailed out by the end of January. This end of month deadline is also the same for state-run exchanges

        - Taxpayers who get their health insurance through their employer or government sponsored programs like Medicare or Medicaid, which will be the majority, will be able to prove their compliance via their tax filing by check a box on their normal tax (1040 series) return validating they had insurance.

        - If you have exemptions to claim, you will need to complete the tax form 8965.

          More information on exemptions: http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-exemptions-list/