IRS: Americans Paid $3 Billion in Obamacare Penalties

Some 6.5 million taxpayers paid $3 billion in Obamacare penalties for not having health insurance last year, according to preliminary data from IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.

Obamacare's individual mandate requires Americans buy healthcare coverage, and though the numbers of taxpayers who've paid the penalty has fallen since 2014, the total in penalties paid has gone up, the data showed.

For example, in 2014, those without insurance had to pay a flat fee of $95 — or 1 percent of the household's adjusted gross income in excess of the threshold for mandatory tax filing. In 2016, those penalties soared to a flat fee of $695 or 2.5 percent of the adjusted gross income.

The data showed that:

• For 2014, 8.1 million taxpayers paid total of $1.7 billion in penalties; in 2016, 6.5 million taxpayers paid a total of $3 billion in penalties.
• The average 2016 penalty paid was around $470, 70 percent of payments were $500 or less, and 7 percent of payments were $100 or less.

The Washington Free Beacon noted this year, the IRS is easing requirements for Obamacare's individual mandate in the wake of President Donald Trump's executive order requiring that federal agencies reduce the burden of Obamacare.

Now, the IRS will not require taxpayers to indicate whether or not they have health insurance, the Free Beacon reported.

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