Obamacare mandate 2018

[FederalInquirer]

Hello!

I had medical insurance thru my employer during 2017, and January, and part of February 2018, month in which I was laid off (just last week). Will the Obamacare "mandate' or penalty still apply to tax year 2018, so when I file my taxes in the beginning of 2019 I could get a fine?

Basically I want to know if I will incur a penalty if I let a few months pass by w/o insurance while I'm finding my next job. Thank you in advance.

Best Regards,

Richard

[TeresaM · Accepted solution]

Yes, as it stands now, the ACA penalty will be apply until 12-31-2018. 

In general, a gap in coverage that lasts less than three months qualifies as a short coverage gap and as long as there are not multiple gaps, the penalty is exempted. If you are covered for any days in a month, it counts as a covered month. Questions number 6 and number 22 have more information on short gaps, in the IRS questions and answers below. There is also information about other exemptions.

click here for more IRS information on exemptions

[FederalInquirer]

But if I take individual h. insur. for 1 month and cancel it after a few days, i still get charged for the month, so that doesn't help. The bottom line is I'm unemployed, but in good health, and I can't afford coverage, but I need a way to avoid the penalty when filing in 2019 my taxes for 2018. Is there a way to do that?

Thank you again

[TeresaM]

This link goes to a Marketplace help-tool that shows the different reasons that exemptions are granted, so you can review for the 2018 tax year.
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.healthcare.gov/exemptions-tool">https://www.healthcare.gov/exemptions-tool</a>