Same here,
Field type: Taxonomy, Single Value (Select)
Load & Save Terms to Post: Checked
When “Load & Save Terms to Post” is unchecked the returned value by get_field() is an object, whereas when it is checked the returned value is an array of one object.
Here’s my current workaround for Single Value (Select or Radio Buttons):
$term = get_field('taxonomy_name');
$term = (is_array($term))? current($term) : $term;
WordPress 3.9.2
ACF 4.3.8