(a) The amount of the Individual Shared Responsibility Penalty imposed on a responsible individual for a taxable year with respect to the failures described in Section 61010 shall be equal to the lesser of either of the following amounts:
(1) The sum of the monthly penalty amounts determined under subdivision (b) for months in the taxable year during which one or more of the failures described in Section 61010 occurred.
(2) An amount equal to one-twelfth of the state average premium for qualified health plans that have a bronze level of coverage for the applicable household size involved, and are offered through the Exchange for plan years beginning in the calendar year with or within which the taxable year ends, multiplied by the number of months in which a failure described in Section 61010 occurred.
(b) For purposes of subdivision (a), the monthly penalty amount with respect to a responsible individual for any month during which a failure described in Section 61010 occurred is an amount equal to one-twelfth of the greater of either of the following amounts:
(1) An amount equal to the lesser of either of the following:
(A) The sum of the applicable dollar amounts for all applicable household members who failed to enroll in and maintain minimum essential coverage pursuant to Section 100705 of the Government Code during the month, except as provided by Section 61023.
(B) Three hundred percent of the applicable dollar amount determined for the calendar year during which the taxable year ends.
(2) An amount equal to 2.5 percent of the excess of the responsible individual’s applicable household income for the taxable year over the amount of gross income that would trigger the responsible individual’s requirement to file a state income tax return under Section 18501, also referred to as the applicable filing threshold, for the taxable year.
(c) For purposes of subdivisions (a) and (b):
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) and subdivision (d), the applicable dollar amount is six hundred ninety-five dollars ($695).
(2) If an applicable individual has not attained 18 years of age as of the beginning of a month, the applicable dollar amount with respect to that individual for that month shall be equal to one-half of the applicable dollar amount as provided in paragraph (1) or subdivision (d).
(3) The maximum monthly penalty, under paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a), for a responsible individual with an applicable household size of five or more individuals equals the maximum monthly penalty for a responsible individual with an applicable household size of five individuals.
(d) In the case of a calendar year beginning after 2019, the applicable dollar amount shall be equal to six hundred ninety-five dollars ($695) and increased as follows:
(1) An amount equal to six hundred ninety-five dollars ($695) multiplied by the cost-of-living adjustment determined pursuant to paragraph (2).
(2) A cost-of-living adjustment for a calendar year is an amount equal to the percentage by which the California Consumer Price Index for all items in the preceding calendar year exceeds the California Consumer Price Index for all items for the 2016 calendar year.
(3) If the amount of an increase under paragraph (1) is not a multiple of fifty dollars ($50), that increase shall be rounded down to the next multiple of fifty dollars ($50).
(4) No later than August 1 of each year, the Department of Industrial Relations shall annually transmit to the Franchise Tax Board the percentage change in the California Consumer Price Index for all items from June of the prior calendar year to June of the current calendar year, inclusive.
(e) For taxable years during which the Franchise Tax Board determines that a federal shared responsibility penalty applies, the Individual Shared Responsibility Penalty shall be reduced, but not below zero, by the amount of the federal penalty imposed on the responsible individual for each month of the taxable year during which the Individual Shared Responsibility Penalty is imposed.
(Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 8, Sec. 17. (AB 85) Effective June 29, 2020.)