It’s never smart to avoid having health insurance — one accident can lead to an emergency room visit and tens of thousands of dollars in bills, or learning you have cancer when it’s too late to treat it. Now there’s another reason to get insured — taxes.

The “shared responsibility payment” is a new tax penalty that Americans have to pay this year if they can afford health insurance but choose not to buy it. It’s called a shared responsibility payment because everyone in the United States is now required to be part of our health insurance system — buying health coverage for themselves and their families rather than relying on others to pay for their care. Those who don’t buy health insurance in 2015 may be subject to the penalty, which is $325 per person in a household or 2 percent of their income, whichever is greater.

* 2014 amounts based on Internal Revenue Service estimates: www.irs.gov/Affordable-Care-Act/Individuals-and-Families/ACA-Individual-Shared-Responsibility-Provision-Calculating-the-Payment. 2015 and 2016 amounts estimated using Affordable Care Act calculator: http://taxpolicycenter.org/taxfacts/acacalculator.cfm.

The best way to avoid the tax penalty is to buy health insurance during open enrollment or through
special enrollment after a qualifying life event. Of those already enrolled, almost 90 percent got financial help to cover their premiums. For more information and to find local, no-cost assistance, visit Find Local Help.

For more information about the tax penalty, visit Tax Penalty Details and Exemptions.