About 7.5 million Americans paid an average penalty of $200 for not having health insurance in 2014 — the first year most Americans were required to have coverage under the Affordable Care Act, the Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday.
The government had estimated in January that from 3 million to 6 million households would have to pay a penalty: 1% of their annual income or $95 per adult in 2014, whichever is greater.
By contrast, 76% of taxpayers checked a box indicating they had insurance coverage all year.
Final figures for the tax year aren't available. The IRS has so far processed about 135 million of the estimated 150 million returns expected.
So far, the IRS said it has collected $1.5 billion from the individual mandate penalty included in the health law.
Some 12 million people avoided the penalty because they received exemptions. They included those whose incomes were too low and Native Americans.
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