Beginning in January, 2014, virtually everyone will be required to have health insurance or face a potential penalty. The initial penalty will be $95 per individual, $285 per family or 1% of your income whichever is greater. There is also a potential penalty assessed on employers who fail to offer employees health care insurance.

What is not known is whether there will be some penalty grace period due to all the sign up problems with the government's web site. If you are uninsured, your best defense is to review your health insurance options and register for an appropriate health insurance policy as soon as possible.

What you need to know

	Every state is required to have an insurance exchange. This exchange is a web site where everyone can view health insurance options. If you need to shop for a policy, this is a good place to start.
	No pre-existing condition limitation. Remember you are no longer to be refused insurance because of a pre-existing condition. Nor can you be charged an incremental premium based on health or gender.
	Buy or pay the penalty? Hopefully, not many will be faced with this dilemma. Part of the health insurance legislation is the requirement for most small businesses to offer a qualified plan or face a penalty billed to their business.
	Will I be penalized? There are exceptions to the penalty if you have to spend more than 8% of your household income on the cheapest health care insurance premiums. There are also subsidies if you cannot afford health care insurance. This is in the form of a health insurance premium tax credit if your household income is between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

If you do not have health insurance start looking now. Remember this penalty may already be impacting you. With proper planning you should be able to avoid the unpleasant task of facing a tax penalty surprise at the end of 2014.

As always, should you have any questions or concerns regarding your situation please feel free to call.

DiSabatino CPA
651 Via Alondra, Suite 715
Camarillo, CA 93012

Phone: 805-389-7300