If your income is so low that you aren’t required to file a tax return, then you're automatically exempt from the penalty. For example, if a single taxpayer’s income in 2016 was less than $10,350, there typically was no need to file a return; for married couples, the cutoff was $20,600. Even if you do file a return -- to claim a refund, for example, or because you are self-employed and earned enough money to require it -- you're still exempt from the insurance requirement if your income is below the cutoff.
You're also exempt from the requirement if the most inexpensive coverage you can find would cost you more than 8.13% of your household income.
If your income is so low that you aren’t required to file a tax return, then you're automatically exempt from the penalty. For example, if a single taxpayer’s income in 2016 was less than $10,350, there typically was no need to file a return; for married couples, the cutoff was $20,600. Even if you do file a return -- to claim a refund, for example, or because you are self-employed and earned enough money to require it -- you're still exempt from the insurance requirement if your income is below the cutoff.
You're also exempt from the requirement if the most inexpensive coverage you can find would cost you more than 8.13% of your household income.