The average penalty was about $470 and the median penalty was about $330, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in a letter to members of Congress. About 7 percent of penalties were $100 or less, and about 70 percent of penalties were $500 or less.
Overall, the 6.5 million Americans who were fined for not having health insurance in 2015 is about 20 percent lower than the approximately 8 million taxpayers who were fined for not having health insurance in 2014, according to the IRS.
Out of the 2015 tax returns processed so far, roughly 85 percent indicated taxpayers had qualifying health coverage all year. The number marks an increase from the 81 percent of taxpayers who were in this category for 2014, the IRS said.
The IRS noted that the data is subject to change and includes information from returns processed through mid-December 2016.
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