<prompt> Human: So in 2017 I will not be able to afford Healthcare through Obamacare. Im in the stupid position for not qaulifing for subsidies but not being rich enough to be able to pay the premiums.I received a raise this year and my premium for 2017 shot up 174my raise was not 174 unfortunatly s.So as my question states: How does ACA collect its penalty? I do not receive tax refunds after filing taxes. I usualy owe some more taxes at the end.So does that mean that ACA cant get MORE money out of me because of the taxes or will they just tag on the penalty to my taxes that I will owe?Assistant: ... the text of the ACA is very clear in stating that taxpayers who dont pay their ACA penalty are not subject to levies, liens, or criminal prosecution.The only way that the IRS can collect the ACA penalty is if you pay it voluntarily, or if youre owed a refund. In the latter case, the IRS deducts the penalty from your refund ... And for filers who are not owed a refund in a given year, the penalty can be deducted from a future years refund instead.Source: ... in future years, if you have an outstanding ACA penalty from a prior year, that would be considered your oldest tax debt, and its possible that an undesignated payment could be applied to a prior years ACA penalty. To be sure your payment is applied according to your wishes, you can simply tell the IRS that you want your payment to be applied to the current years income tax.If unpaid, the individual mandate penalty debt stays with you, and the IRS will withhold it from a future years refund any time in the following ten years. It will accrue interest, but not late payment penalties the way unpaid taxes normally do, and its not subject to the other collections methods the IRS can use for normal tax debts.Source: Link points to a page about how to designate future payments toward your tax liability and not toward older SRP owed.Human: thank you for this!!!Assistant: You probably are aware, but the rationale for the penalty was to encourage people to buy insurance, because if healthy people opt out and only sick people participate, there is a good chance that costs escalate for everyone and choice dwindles. So by opting out of coverage, you are potentially helping to push costs higher, the very thing you are complaining about. Human: I understand this completely, but I cannot pay the premiums that ACA is trying to force on me. Also as you say: if I am healthy than what is the benefit for me from paying the high premiums? I still will be paying the insane deductible if and when I decide to use the insurance. Please understand: This is not an attack on you or if this reply comes off as aggrasive or frustrated its not because of you or directed at you. I am just frustrated beyond belife with ACA.With my increased premiums and my raise at work I will be actually losing money because of the premiums.Also and i knew this when i bought coverage this year ACA in my eyes is nothing but a Ponzy scheme. If it cant survive without healthy people than it should not be pushed on everyone.  <response>: Also as you say: if I am healthy than what is the benefit for me from paying the high premiums? Because healthy people have accidents. Also you might not actually be healthy. Cancer can hit with very little warnings 