It depends. There are many exemptions that individuals might qualify for that will reduce or eliminate paying a penalty (called the Shared Responsibility Payment). Again, reading carefully and paying attention to the options TBB presents you with is the surest way to minimize your penalty.

You can find the full list of exemptions that can be claimed on your tax return here. A few that may be more common for TBB users are listed below.

• Coverage is considered unaffordable. The cost of the cheapest health plan or employer-provided insurance for self-only coverage is more than 8% of the household yearly income for the given tax year. TBB will calculate what 8% of your household yearly income is and tell you this amount on the page where it asks about this exemption.
• Income below the return filing threshold. If you are not required to file a tax return because your income is below the filing threshhold, then you are eligible for an exemption for everyone on your tax return for the entire year. TBB will automatically assess this exemption for you based on the income that you entered. You can read more about this exemption and find out the filing threshhold for your filing status here. 
• Short coverage gap. A less than three month gap in coverage during the year. TBB will automatically assess this exemption for you if you had a coverage gap of less than three months.
• Gap in coverage at the beginning of 2014. You had a qualified health plan for most of the year, but you had a coverage gap at the beginning of the year up to May 1. TBB will automatically assess this exemption for you if you had a coverage gap at the beginning of the year.
• Resident of a state that did not expand Medicaid. You were a resident of a state at any time in 2014 that did not expand Medicaid and your household income was below 138% of the federal poverty line for your family size. You can find out if your state expanded Medicaid in 2014 and read more information about this exemption here. 

The most important thing to note for individuals who do not have insurance for some or all of the year is DO NOT IGNORE THE EXEMPTIONS PAGE! Even if you do not think you are eligible for an exemption, make sure to read all of the exemptions and help pops very carefully because you may find that one applies to you or someone else in your tax family.

Yes, there are some exemptions that are ONLY granted through the Marketplace.  This applies to the following exemptions:

• Members of certain religious sects. You are a member of a recognized religious sect, which is a religious sect that has been in existence since December 31, 1950, and is recognized by the Social Security Administration as conscientiously opposed to accepting any insurance benefits, including Medicare and social security. You may still be able to retroactively apply for this exemption for 2014. You can find the application here.
• General hardship. You experienced circumstances that prevented you from obtaining coverage under a qualified health plan, also known as a hardship exemption. There are many hardship exemptions and a full list can be found here. You may be still be able to retroactively apply for some of these exemptions for 2014. The application can be found at the link above as well.
• Coverage considered unaffordable based on projected income. You did not have access to affordable coverage based on your PROJECTED household income at the time of application. This means that when you applied or were looking for coverage during open enrollment for 2014, your only coverage options for self-only coverage were more than 8% of the income that you anticipated receiving for the upcoming year. In order to be eligible for this exemption, you must have applied for it during open enrollment for the 2014 tax year. You cannot retroactively apply for this exemption.

Important Note: If you believe you qualify for one of the Marketplace-granted exemptions but you have not applied for one, you should apply now before you file your taxes!

If you apply for an exemption and you need more time to file your taxes while you wait to hear if your exemption is granted, you should consider filing a tax extension.

The Benefit Bank programmers and researchers have worked hard to make this new, complicated tax policy as simple and easy to understand as possible. Reading all the page text and help pops carefully in the Health Coverage and Premium Tax Credit section is the best way to ensure a hassle-free experience.