The Affordable Care Act mandated that all United States taxpayers purchase ACA approved, qualified health plans or pay a tax penalty when reconciling taxes.  This is often referred to as the individual mandate.  The individual mandate went into effect at the beginning of January 2014 and continues each year. The penalty for not having coverage is paid on your Federal Income Tax Returns for each full month you or a family member does not have health insurance (unless you have an exemption) and is based on your Modified Adjusted Gross Income.  In addition, the penalty increased in 2015 and is increasing again in 2016.  (more…)