WASHINGTON — You didn’t get health coverage in 2014 and now you’re being hit with a tax penalty.
You missed the Feb. 15 deadline to sign up for 2015 coverage.
If you are a Maryland resident and meet both of these conditions, you just got an extension to sign up for coverage according to Andrew Ratner, director of marketing and outreach at the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange.
Ratner says if you sign up during the special enrollment period being offered, you are still on the hook to pay the tax penalty. The penalty for 2014 is $95 dollars or 1 percent of your income, whichever is greater. Ratner says for 2015, “That penalty increases to 2 percent of income or $325 per individual, so it’s certainly steeper for 2015.”
The special enrollment period starts March 15 and runs through April 30.
Have questions about your status?
You can go online here, or you can call the toll free number at 855-642-8572.
Ratner says middays are busiest, so if you can, call earlier in the day.
