I got married in November 2023 to my wife who lived overseas. We are filing taxes jointly for 2023 and treating her as “Nonresident Spouse Treated as a Resident". However, California is charging us a penalty for her not having insurance

[diegoevq]

Since there is no way she could have had health insurance prior to November, should she be exempt from this penalty?

[Vanessa A]

Yes, she would be exempt.  However, if you file a joint return, with her claiming residency, then she is treated as a resident for the entire year. If she is treated as a resident for the whole year, then she would be subject to residency rules.

In order to get the penalty removed, you will need to request an exemption.