If the taxpayer meets certain criteria, s/he may be exempt from the requirement to have qualifying health coverage. If the taxpayer is exempt, s/he will not have to make a shared responsibility payment when s/he files his/her 2014 federal income tax return in 2015. For any month that the taxpayer does not qualify for a coverage exemption, s/he will need to have minimum essential coverage or make a shared responsibility payment.

How the taxpayer gets a coverage exemption depends upon the type of exemption for which s/he is eligible. The taxpayer can obtain some exemptions only from the Marketplace while others may be claimed when the taxpayer files his/her tax return.  Some exemptions can be obtained from the Marketplace or claimed on the taxpayer's tax return. The taxpayer will report an exemption obtained from the Marketplace when s/he files his/her tax return.

The taxpayer may be exempt if:

• The minimum amount s/he must pay for the annual premiums is more than eight percent of the household income;
• S/he has a gap in coverage that is less than three consecutive months; or
• S/he qualifies for an exemption for one of several other reasons, including having a hardship that prevents him/her from obtaining coverage, or belonging to a group explicitly exempt from the requirement.

Learn more about exemptions in this chart and in questions 21-24 of our Questions and Answers. For more information on hardship exemptions, you can also visit Healthcare.gov and access HHS guidance and Questions and Answers.