It's official: if you make a quarter of a million bucks a year and decide not to pay for health insurance, you're going to have to fork over $2,448 to the feds.
The Internal Revenue Service finally released its maximum fines for those who choose to go without health insurance. Under terms of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, fines were included for those who decided not to have coverage as an incentive to get more folks to purchase coverage.
The maximum family penalty issued by the IRS was $12,240 for a five-member family. That's five times $2,448, in case you wondered.
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Most Americans who may have been on the fence about getting coverage under the act won't get dinged too hard. For individuals earning more than $19,650, the fine is one percent of annual income. For those making between $10,150 and $19,650, it's a flat fee of $95. For those earning less than $10,150, there's no penalty.
The penalty is due when people file 2014 taxes.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
