Everyone is permitted fewer than three months without coverage under the Affordable Care Act, or another exemption every year. Because of a "brief coverage gap" exception, this is the case. During a brief period when an employer shuts down its health plan, employees are allowed to go without coverage. When plans are re-established after such a shutdown, anyone who has not obtained other coverage can again be denied coverage. In general, if you have no health insurance and no money set aside for medical expenses, you will need to get covered quickly if you do not want to suffer financial hardship due to illness or injury. The only way to know for sure how long you can go without coverage is by actually being without it for some time. If you stay healthy, you should be able to last at least three months unless you develop a serious disease or accident that requires extensive treatment. You may be able to claim too much income when you file your taxes if you don't have any health insurance. You should be able to find out exactly how much more you can claim on Form 8968, Extended Disclosure Statement. This form must be filed with your tax return even if you don't owe any additional taxes. The IRS claims that people who cannot afford health insurance but still want to claim their income in full may not be able to claim all of it.