New Jersey Has Its Own Obamacare Tax Penalty

 

The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) tax penalty has been set to zero, but some states have enacted their own health insurance requirements.

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In New Jersey, you may be required to pay a state tax penalty if you don't have health insurance.

In January 2019, New Jersey initiated its own tax penalty for state residents who don't have health insurance. (Technically, they call it a "shared responsibility payment.") The payment essentially replaces the federal Affordable Care Act penalty that ended at that time. Unless you qualify for an exemption, you will face a state tax penalty when you file your state tax return.

What Is the Penalty for Not Having Health Insurance in New Jersey?

For an individual without health insurance, the penalty starts at $695 and climbs to a maximum of $3,492, depending on your annual income. Penalties for families depend on both family size and income. For a family with two adults and three dependents, the penalty starts at $2,351 and could climb as high as $4,500, depending on household income. The maximum penalty is the equivalent of the average yearly premium of a bronze plan sold in New Jersey.

These calculations are complicated, so New Jersey offers a Shared Responsibility Payment Calculator that you can use to figure out what you would owe.

You must pay for any months in which you and your family members don't have qualifying health insurance and don't meet the requirements for an exemption.

Do I Qualify for an Exemption from the New Jersey Health Insurance Penalty?

Exemptions to New Jersey's health insurance requirement include having a very low income, not being required to file a New Jersey tax return, having no affordable options for coverage, having a lapse in coverage of fewer than three months, or experiencing hardship. To see the full list of available exemptions, see the Claim Exemptions page on the New Jersey Treasury Department website.

Learn More 

To learn about what qualifies as health coverage under Obamacare and whether you are exempt, see Do I Have to Get Obamacare in New Jersey?

For more information about the New Jersey health insurance requirement, including penalty amounts and how to claim an exemption if you qualify, see the New Jersey Health Insurance Mandate pages on the website of the New Jersey Treasury. 


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Jurisdictional relevance: ST

There are versions of this article for each State.



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