The ACA individual mandate, which is just a penalty tax, is assessed each year for those individuals who do not maintain health insurance that provides “minimum essential coverage.” While exemptions do exist for certain individuals, for many this penalty tax resulted in much resentment towards the government and our healthcare system altogether; however, in December 2017 the ACA individual mandate was repealed.
While a collective sigh of relief could be heard when this repeal occurred, the elimination of this tax penalty did not take effect immediately nor was it retroactive. Consequently, penalties will still be assessed for those individuals who did not maintain “minimum essential coverage” health insurance in 2017 and 2018. This could come as a big surprise for those who have not filed their 2017 tax returns as well as for those during this upcoming 2018 tax return season. It is only in 2019 that the repeal goes into effect.
Furthermore, large group employers (those with 50 or more full-time employees in the previous tax year) are still on the hook for the ACA employer mandate. If a large group employer is found non-compliant then the IRS could assess penalties via the Letter 226-J.
Contact BrookStone Insurance Group for more information regarding ACA compliance and health insurance options.