Instructions

The estimator starts by asking for the tax year. Certain figures used in determining the payment are indexed to inflation:

• The filing threshold

  The amount of gross income an individual of your age and with your filing status must make to be required to file a tax return.

• The affordability threshold

  For 2014, if the amount you must pay for annual premiums is more than 8% of your household income your coverage is considered unaffordable. This is indexed to inflation for 2015 and forward.

• The national average bronze plan premium

  The national average premium for qualified health plans that have a bronze level of coverage, would provide coverage for your shared responsibility family members who do not have minimum essential coverage for the month, and are offered through Exchanges for plan years beginning in the calendar year with or within which the taxable year ends.

• The flat dollar amount

  $95 in 2014,
  $325 in 2015,
  $695 in 2016, and
  Indexed to inflation for 2017 and forward.

Because these figures are indexed to inflation, the estimator cannot provide a detailed estimate for future years.

Enter your information as you expect it to be for the year.

1. Whether you are a dependent of another taxpayer

   If you qualify as a dependent of another taxpayer, only the person who is able to claim you as a dependent will be liable for the payment, if any. This is true even if the other person does not claim you on their return.

2. Your expected annual household income

   Household income is the adjusted gross income from your tax return plus any excludible foreign earned income and tax-exempt interest you receive during the taxable year. Household income also includes the incomes of all of your dependents who are required to file tax returns.

3. Your filing status.

   Select your expected filing status. Additionally, if you (and your spouse if married and filing a joint return) are 65 or older for the entire year, check the boxes indicating your ages.

4. The number of people in your family at the beginning of the year.

   This includes yourself, your spouse, and your dependents.

   If you gain or lose a family member in any month during the year, adjust your family size in the following step.

Begin by entering your family members' information at the beginning of the year. For for each family member, select whether:

• Family member is under 18.

  If you or a family member have not turned 18 before the end of the prior year, check the "Under 18" box for the family member in the "Coverage at start of year" section.

• Family member has minimum essential coverage.

  If the family member is covered under minimum essential coverage at the beginning of the year, check this box.

• Exemption if not covered.

  If the family member is not covered, select one exemption if it applies. If no exemption applies, select "None"

If you or a family member experiences a change to any of the above during the year, enter the change for that month.

• If a family member turns 18 during the year, enter the change for the month after their 18th birthday.
• A family member is considered to have coverage if the member is covered for at least one day of a month. Uncheck the "Covered" box only if a family member does not have coverage for the entire month.

If you gain or lose a family member on a day other than the first of a month during the year, adjust your family size by clicking the "Add" or "Remove" buttons for the following month. If the gain or loss is on the first of a month, make the change for that month.

If you are liable for the shared responsibility payment, this will show you a summary of the payment and how it was determined.

How the payment is determined

In general, the Shared Responsibility Payment is one of the following:

• A flat dollar amount. For 2018, it is $695 per person (half that for individuals under 18) and capped at the amount for 3 adults.
• A percentage of your income (your excess income amount). For 2018, it is 2.5% of your income over the filing threshold for your filing status.
• The national average bronze plan premium. For 2018, it is $283 per month for each family member (up to four) and $1,415 per month for a family with five or more.

If you are subject to the Shared Responsibility Payment, the payment is the larger of the flat dollar amount or your excess income amount.

The national average bronze plan premium is an overall cap (limit) on the payment. If the flat dollar amount or your excess income amount is greater than the national average bronze plan premium for your family size, the payment will be equal to the national average bronze plan premium.

A monthly amount that is 1⁄12 of the annual national average premium for qualified health plans that:

• Have a bronze level of coverage,
• Would provide coverage for your family members who do not have minimum essential coverage, and
• Are offered through Exchanges for plan years during the tax year.

The national average bronze plan premium is an overall cap (limit) on the payment. If the flat dollar amount or your excess income amount is greater than the national average bronze plan premium for your family size, the payment will be equal to the national average bronze plan premium.

A certain percentage of the amount of your household income over your filing threshold.

It is defined as the product of:

• The excess of your household income over your filing threshold for your age (and age of your spouse if married filing jointly) and filing status.
• The income percentage, which is:
  • 1% for 2014,
  • 2% for 2015,
  • 2.5% for 2016 and forward.

You may be exempt from the requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage and thus will not have to make a shared responsibility payment when you file your return if you meet certain criteria.

For more information about the exemptions, see:

• Exemption Information on Healthcare.gov
• Exemption Information on IRS.gov

Your family members include you, your spouse (if married and filing a joint return), and everyone you are able to claim as dependents.

Your Shared Responsibility Family: For the shared responsibility provision, in each month, all family members who:

• Do not have minimum essential health coverage for the month and
• Do not qualify for an exemption.

Tax return filing threshold is the amount of gross income an individual of your age and with your filing status (e.g., single, married filing jointly, head of household) must make to be required to file a tax return.

The lesser of:

• The sum of the applicable dollar amounts for all individuals included in your shared responsibility family; or
• 300 percent of the applicable dollar amount for adults.

The Applicable Dollar Amount

For adults it is:

• $695 in 2016,
• $695 in 2017, or
• $695 in 2018

For family members under age 18, the applicable dollar amount is half the amount for adults.

Household income is the adjusted gross income from your tax return plus any excludible foreign earned income and tax-exempt interest you receive during the taxable year. Household income also includes the incomes of all of your dependents who are required to file tax returns.

Minimum essential coverage means coverage under a government-sponsored program, an eligible employer-sponsored plan, a plan in the individual market, a grandfathered health plan, or other health benefits coverage.

For an individual that does not qualify for an exemption and is not covered under minimum essential coverage, 1/12 multiplied by the greater of:

• The flat dollar amount; or
• The excess income amount.

Additionally, the national average bronze plan premium is an overall cap (limit) on the payment. If the flat dollar amount or your excess income amount is greater than the national average bronze plan premium for your family size, the payment will be equal to the national average bronze plan premium.

Short coverage gap means a continuous period of less than three months in which the individual is not covered under minimum essential coverage.

If the individual does not have minimum essential coverage for a continuous period of three or more months, none of the months included in the continuous period are treated as included in a short coverage gap.

If a calendar year includes more than one short coverage gap, the exemption only applies to the earliest short coverage gap.