The Affordable Care Act calls for individuals to have qualifying health insurance coverage for each month of the year, have an exemption, or make a shared responsibility payment when filing his or her federal income tax return.

You may be exempt from the requirement to maintain qualifying health insurance coverage, called minimum essential coverage, and may not have to make a shared responsibility payment when you file your next federal income tax return. .

You may be exempt if you:

• Have no affordable coverage options because the minimum amount you must pay for the annual premiums is more than eight percent of your household income,
• Have a gap in coverage for less than three consecutive months, or
• Qualify for an exemption for one of several other reasons, including having a hardship that prevents you from obtaining coverage or belonging to a group explicitly exempt from the requirement.

The IRS website, IRS.gov/aca, has a comprehensive list of the coverage exemptions.

How you get an exemption depends upon the type of exemption. You can obtain some exemptions only from the Marketplace in the area where you live, others only from the IRS, and yet others from either the Marketplace or the IRS.

Additional information about exemptions is available on the Individual Shared Responsibility Provision web page on IRS.gov. The page includes a link to a chart that shows the types of exemptions available and whether they must be granted by the Marketplace, claimed on an income tax return filed with the IRS, or by either the Marketplace or the IRS. For additional information about how to get exemptions that may be granted by the Marketplace, visit HealthCare.gov/exemptions.

More Information

Find out more about the tax-related provisions of the health care law at IRS.gov/aca.

Find out more about the health care law at HealthCare.gov.

If you owe taxes but can’t pay in full, the IRS has options for you. Most importantly, make sure you file your tax return and pay as much as you can. Then let the IRS help you choose your best option to pay. Here are some options to consider, even if you can’t pay the full amount right now:

• Borrow the money.  If you don’t have the money to pay all your taxes now, then you may want to get a loan from a bank or other source. The interest rate may be lower than the interest and penalties the IRS charges on late taxes. You also may be able to borrow against your assets or sell them to raise cash.
• Make an Online Payment Agreement.  If you are unable to pay in full, then consider paying over time. If you owe $50,000 or less, you can apply for an installment agreement. You may choose to make convenient monthly direct debit payments for up to 72 months. With this option, there are no checks to write or send. And you won’t miss a payment or pay late. The best way to apply is to use the IRS Online Payment Agreement tool on IRS.gov. If you don’t have access to the Internet, you can apply by filing Form 9465, Installment Agreement Request.

  The IRS can also help if your tax debt is more than $50,000 or you need more than six years to pay. In these cases, the IRS may ask for further financial information. See Form 433-A or Form 433-F, Collection Information Statement.

• Use an Offer in Compromise as a last resort.  An Offer in Compromise is an agreement that allows you to settle your tax debt for less than the full amount. Generally, the IRS will accept an offer if it represents the most the agency can expect to collect within a reasonable time. The IRS looks at several factors to make a decision on your offer. Use the Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier tool on IRS.gov to see if you may be eligible for an OIC.

The IRS has also increased the amount that taxpayers owe before the IRS normally files a Notice of Federal Tax Lien. Find more information on these topics on IRS.gov.