No Health insurance (for 5 months) when we are in India, How to report it?

[sreenu]

We moved to India due to H1-B rejection in Apr 2018, and came back to USA with new H1-B in Sep 2018. So for the months of Apr-Aug we don't have a health insurance. What I can report on health insurance page for me, my wife (H4) and my child (US citizen, 1 yr old)?

[LinaJ2018]

You can report that you are not a US legal resident, this way you will not be subject to a penalty. See the attached screenshot.

[sreenu]

How I can report for my son who is 1 year old and US citizen?

[balNgita]

hello sreenu,

I have the same situation. My kids who are US citizens stayed in India for the entire tax year did not have health coverage. How did you handle your situation? 

Bal

[ThomasM125]

There is an option in the 2018 TurboTax program in the health Insurance section to indicate that you spent 330 days or more outside the US. 

It is on the screen that says "Do you have a situation that waives the tax penalty for being uninsured"? If you check that box you will not be penalized for not having health insurance for your child.

[balNgita]

Hi Thomas, 

Thank you for the response. I wanted to hear your thoughts on my unique situation below: 

1: My status: H1B visa from 2016, citizen of Nepal.

2. My wife: Citizen of Nepal, lived in the US with me until the Dec 23, 2017. Has SSN.

3. Two kids born in the US: daughter: 7-13-2016.    and son: 9-13-2017

4. Wife and kids lived in Nepal from Dec 25, 2017 to Jan 16, 2020, and returned to the US on Jan 17, 2020.

Questions: 

Do I file my tax return as married filing jointly or separately or single or otherwise for the tax years 2018 and 2019?

Can I claim child tax credits or other dependent credits for the given years? 

I supported my wife and kids 100% while they were in Nepal. My wife did not earn any money in the tax year. 

Thank you again

Baru

[ThomasM125]

You can file as married-joint, as long as you entered your spouse's income on your return, or if she didn't have any income. I am assuming she has a social security number, which is what I understood.

Since the children are US citizens by birth, you can claim them as dependents if you have a social security number for them, provided they qualify as dependents otherwise. You can enter them in TurboTax and answer the questions to see if they qualify as dependents. You may qualify for the credits associated with dependent children if they qualify as your dependents.