My husband came to the US in March and was added to my insurance since May after we got married. He had no income worldwide in TY 2017. He's a dual-status nonresident as he was a nonresident at the beginning of the year but a resident at the end of the year under Substantial Presence Test.
We wanted to file jointly to minimize our tax liability. Is he qualified for a health insurance penalty exemption for JAN and FEB under exemption code C below since he wasn't physically present in the US for these two months? I am a little confused and not sure if the underlined exception prevents us from claiming the exemption as to file jointly, we need to make an election to treat my husband as a resident alien for the whole year.
Citizens living abroad and certain noncitizens — You were:
? A U.S. citizen or resident who was physically present in a foreign country or countries for at least 330 full days during any period of 12 consecutive months;
? A U.S. citizen who was a bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year;
? A bona fide resident of a U.S. territory;
? A resident alien who was a citizen or national of a foreign country with which the U.S. has an income tax treaty with a nondiscrimination clause, and you were a bona fide resident of a foreign country for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year;
? Not lawfully present in the U.S and not a U.S. citizen or U.S. national. For this purpose, an immigrant with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status is not considered lawfully present and therefore qualifies for this exemption. For more information about who is treated as lawfully present in the U.S. for purposes of this coverage exemption, visit www.HealthCare.gov; or
? A nonresident alien, including (1) a dual-status alien in the first year of U.S. residency and (2) a nonresident alien or
dual-status
nonresident alien who elects to file a joint return with a U.S. spouse. This exemption doesn’t apply if you are a nonresident alien for 2017, but met certain presence requirements and elected to be treated as a resident alien. For more information see Pub. 519.
