This Year Will Mark First Time Tax Filers Have To Disclose Health Insurance Information

This is the first year federal tax filers will be required to tell the government whether they have health coverage.

Most people get health coverage through their job and won’t be affected by the changes — they’ll just have to check a box on their tax form confirming they have insurance. Others who got federal subsidies to pay for insurance purchased on the federal marketplace may have to pay some of that money back or get a rebate depending on whether income went up or down.

Those who didn’t have insurance will have to pay a $95 penalty.

“The Congressional Budget Office actually projects that only 1.4 percent of Americans will have to pay a tax penalty,” said Lindsay Swindall, a Dane County navigator with Covering Kids & Families.

There are exemptions people can claim if they don’t have insurance. Hardship exemptions include homelessness, trouble paying utility bills or having not been able to find affordable insurance. To be affordable, an individual’s coverage through work can’t exceed 9.5 percent of household income.