My mom is my dependent and we applied for her greencard early 2017. It arrived in Nov and she got SSN in Dec. Do we have to pay healthcare penalty for all of 2017?

[yagamilight13]

I was deployed for 10 months in 2017 and didn't quite get a chance to shop for a health insurance plan for her. She was B1 since Nov 2016 before I sponsored her for a greencard. She hasn't had any health insurance throughout 2017.

[KittyM · Accepted solution]

No, you will not have to pay the healthcare penalty for your mother in 2017.  

Anyone on your taxes who is not a legal U.S. resident may qualify to have the penalty for going without health insurance in 2017 waived. This includes anyone who does not have lawful permanent resident status, known as a "Green Card".

In the Health Care tab of the TurboTax interview, you will choose the radio button for "I'll pick who had it and which months" on the page "Did you all have health insurance coverage in 2017?"

On the next page, leave the boxes for your mother blank and Continue.

The next page should be "Did anyone have a situation that waives the tax penalty for being uninsured?"  On this page, you will choose the option, "Not a legal U.S. resident."  This will waive the penalty for your mom.