Tax filing first time/health insurance penalty

[jenibaleeni 11]

We are in the process of filing our taxes, and I want to cry.

 

My wife moved here in April 2016, but I couldn't add her to my health insurance through my employer as she didn't have a social security number and was told I couldn't add her without one. 

She finally received her social security number and EAD in September 2016.  I couldn't add her to the health insurance until January 2017.

 

Is there an exemption or will we be penalized?

 

Also, I've gone through many of the forums here, and I *think* we need to file:

1040

Election statement to be treated as a resident for tax purposes

2555EZ (she only worked in Chile from January to March and made very little income)

8938

 

Does anyone know of anything else?  all of this is soo intimidating!

 

 

[Redheadguy03 505]

You could try applying for a hardship exemption and explaining the situation, but theirs no guarantee it'll be approved. Also,  I'd wait until as late as you can to file because Trump is supposedly doing away with the fee. 

[Chardon Ne' 71]

Im in the same situation as you and I am just going to file married filing jointly without any letter it is my understanding that it is done automatically once you file.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

8 minutes ago, Chardon Ne' said:

Im in the same situation as you and I am just going to file married filing jointly without any letter it is my understanding that it is done automatically once you file.

No, you have to send an election statement.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

30 minutes ago, jenibaleeni said:

We are in the process of filing our taxes, and I want to cry.

 

My wife moved here in April 2016, but I couldn't add her to my health insurance through my employer as she didn't have a social security number and was told I couldn't add her without one. 

She finally received her social security number and EAD in September 2016.  I couldn't add her to the health insurance until January 2017.

 

Is there an exemption or will we be penalized?

 

Also, I've gone through many of the forums here, and I *think* we need to file:

1040

Election statement to be treated as a resident for tax purposes

2555EZ (she only worked in Chile from January to March and made very little income)

8938

 

Does anyone know of anything else?  all of this is soo intimidating!

 

 

Apparently the employer doesn't need an SSN to add a spouse, but many don't know this. It's been addressed here on vj many times. That doesn't help you now though. I believe you will have to pay the fee from May-December.  Even if Trump "does away with" the fee it won't affect past tax years.

[geowrian 22,335]

1) An SSN is not required to obtain health insurance. Many online forms require it, but it is not actually required.

2) Why couldn't you add her to your health insurance when she got her SSN? Marriage is a qualifying life event. Or was it because it wasn't done immediately once you were eligible?

 

I don't think an exemption applies as she was technically eligible for health insurance but did not obtain it, and passes the test for substantial presence. You can apply for a hardship exemption, but then you obviously need to prove an eligible hardship.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

2 minutes ago, geowrian said:

1) An SSN is not required to obtain health insurance. Many online forms require it, but it is not actually required.

2) Why couldn't you add her to your health insurance when she got her SSN? Marriage is a qualifying life event. Or was it because it wasn't done immediately once you were eligible?

 

I don't think an exemption applies as she was technically eligible for health insurance but did not obtain it, and passes the test for substantial presence. You can apply for a hardship exemption, but then you obviously need to prove an eligible hardship.

I believe the event must be within 60 days.

Edited February 8, 2017 by Suss&Camm

[f f 725]

moving to the us is a qualifying event.

marrying is a qualifying event.

were both events that would have given you a 60 day window and it takes 2-3 weeks to get a ssn so it is pretty hard to justify why you couldn't meet the incorrect requirment your employer was trying to impose.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

Just now, f f said:

moving to the us is a qualifying event.

marrying is a qualifying event.

were both events that would have given you a 60 day window and it takes 2-3 weeks to get a ssn so it is pretty hard to justify why you couldn't meet the incorrect requirment your employer was trying to impose.

Took 8 weeks for my verification.

[yuna628 9,528]

It is possible that the exemption could apply, but it would be best to talk to a tax preparer knowledgeable in the area to work through this on your behalf. Even if the penalty should apply, it would not think it to be the full penalty. It would most likely be defined as whenever the IRS thinks you became a 'resident for tax purposes' or 'the substantial presence test'.

 

Yes you do not need an SSN to obtain health insurance. The problem is once again another case of someone trusting what the HR of their employer states they can and cannot do. For adding to work policies, yes it is a very good idea to sign up within 60 days (there's varying regulations). On the other hand though, the spouse was also eligible to obtain health insurance via a private plan nearly very immediately, and/or shortly after filing for AOS if using the federal/state exchange.

 

Keep also in mind that trying to sign someone up without an SSN can be difficult to do when you constantly encounter persons that are ignorant of the law. So I am very sympathetic to those persons who get stuck in problems like this because of bad info. But also keep in mind that going to the SSA and getting a SSN can be problematic for some people - due to ignorance in policy from employees, a mistake in the system, or the dreaded ''manual verification'' excuse. So it's not very cut and dry in those instances. People will leave the SSA believing they cannot obtain health insurance without an SSN because someone at an insurance office or HR told them that was the case, and the SSA will tell them there is a delay because someone didn't know what they were doing. Meanwhile the clock is ticking and the penalty may or may not apply. It's a shame, but the law isn't very clear on how to help in situations like these.

Edited February 8, 2017 by yuna628

[rsilva 18]

Check out this excerpt that I found on the IRS website:

 

https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/individuals-and-families/questions-and-answers-on-the-individual-shared-responsibility-provision

 

 Are all individuals living in the United States subject to the individual shared responsibility provision?

All U.S. citizens living in the United States are subject to the individual shared responsibility provision as are all permanent residents and all foreign nationals who are in the United States long enough during a calendar year to qualify as resident aliens for tax purposes. This category includes nonresident aliens who meet certain presence requirements and elect to be treated as resident aliens. For more information see Pub. 519. 

Foreign nationals who live in the United States for a short enough period of time that they do not become resident aliens for federal income tax purposes are exempt from the individual shared responsibility payment even though they may have to file a U.S. income tax return. The IRS has more information available on when a foreign national becomes a resident alien for federal income tax purposes. Individuals who are exempt under this rule include:

• Nonresident aliens;
• Dual-status aliens in their first year of U.S. residency;
• Nonresident aliens or dual-status aliens who elect to file a joint return with a U.S. spouse;
• Individuals who file a Form 1040NR or Form 1040NR-EZ (including a dual-status tax return for their last year of U.S. residency); and
• Individuals who are claimed as a personal exemption on a Form 1040NR or Form 1040NR-EZ.

In addition, individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States and not U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals are exempt from the individual shared responsibility provision. For this purpose, an immigrant with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status is considered not lawfully present and therefore is eligible for this exemption.  An individual may qualify for this exemption even if he or she has a social security number (SSN).

Individuals who file a Form 1040NR or Form 1040NR-EZ, or are claimed as a personal exemption on one of those forms, do not need to take any action to claim an exemption from the individual shared responsibility provision. Other individuals who qualify for an exemption and file a U.S. income tax return should attach Form 8965, Health Coverage Exemptions, to claim the exemption.

   

[rsilva 18]

You can use this tool on the IRS website.  I believe you will find yourself exempt using exemption code C on Form 8965 when you file your taxes based upon being:

• A nonresident alien, including (1) a dual-status alien in the first year of U.S. residency, or (2) a nonresident alien or dual-status alien who elected to file a joint return with a U.S. spouse

.  

   https://www.irs.gov/uac/am-i-eligible-for-a-coverage-exemption-or-required-to-make-an-individual-shared-responsibility-payment

 

[Delirium 114]

6 hours ago, Chardon Ne' said:

Im in the same situation as you and I am just going to file married filing jointly without any letter it is my understanding that it is done automatically once you file.

I did not send a letter (I do my taxes through turbo tax) and it was automatically done. However, that was before I learned I needed to send a statement. I would have sent my statement with my return if I knew I was supposed to before I sent it. 

[Jenilyn and Awal 22]

Is the statement you all talks no about the form you get from employer stating you were covered for health insurance? My husbands still in Ghana so he's covered by his national insurance and to get his ITIN number we been at it for 3 months now so I see the problem with filing taxes also, 

[zorus40k 21]

19 hours ago, jenibaleeni said:

Is there an exemption or will we be penalized?

Does anyone know of anything else?  all of this is soo intimidating!

It depends on the amount of gross income you've had for Tax Year 2016. Maybe it will make sense not to file jointly.

And also here is the list of exemptions https://www.healthcare.gov/health-coverage-exemptions/hardship-exemptions/