Confused Aussie

[nathens]

Hi all,

US tax laws are super confusing, so i'm going to get right to it:

I moved here in April 2108 and got married legally, got my work permit in November - PRIOR to my residency.
Got my residency in Feb 2019.
I worked for 5 weeks late 2018 and am trying to file my taxes, BUT when we get to the part about health coverage, it asks all about exemptions

I would assume that as i A: didn't get here until April, and B: wasn't a resident at all during the year, that i wouldn't even be eligible for health coverage anyway, but apparently as i was here for more than 183 days, i am technically a Resident Alien and therefore cannot claim exemption.... setting me up to be charged for 'non-coverage' on health insurance i wouldn't have been able to get anyway!?!?

Can someone PLEASE help with this very confusing situation that may end up costing me more than i even earned for the year...

 

[xylene]

I strongly suggest you work with a tax professional.

US tax laws ARE complex, with good reason. You are out of your depth and big $ are involved.

Not the time to DIY it.

 

[LdiJ]

Hi all,

US tax laws are super confusing, so i'm going to get right to it:

I moved here in April 2108 and got married legally, got my work permit in November - PRIOR to my residency.
Got my residency in Feb 2019.
I worked for 5 weeks late 2018 and am trying to file my taxes, BUT when we get to the part about health coverage, it asks all about exemptions

I would assume that as i A: didn't get here until April, and B: wasn't a resident at all during the year, that i wouldn't even be eligible for health coverage anyway, but apparently as i was here for more than 183 days, i am technically a Resident Alien and therefore cannot claim exemption.... setting me up to be charged for 'non-coverage' on health insurance i wouldn't have been able to get anyway!?!?

Can someone PLEASE help with this very confusing situation that may end up costing me more than i even earned for the year...

Are you filing a joint return with your spouse? You should be. There is an exemption that will work for you for at least January through April 2018 since you were not even in the country then, and that exemption might still work for you at least up until when you got your work permit. The exemptions work on a monthly basis. So you need to look at what you were for each month of the year, individually.

 

[nathens]

Are you filing a joint return with your spouse? You should be. There is an exemption that will work for you for at least January through April 2018 since you were not even in the country then, and that exemption might still work for you at least up until when you got your work permit. The exemptions work on a monthly basis. So you need to look at what you were for each month of the year, individually.

We are filing jointly, yes. We found the route for getting exemption for the first 4 months, but were still struggling to avoid getting charged for the remainder of the year (some $600+)
We eventually caved in and set up a meeting with HRBlock as it was getting very stressful.

I've always been able to do my taxes by myself back in Aus. and was pretty confident I could do the same here... guess not haha.

 

[LdiJ]

We are filing jointly, yes. We found the route for getting exemption for the first 4 months, but were still struggling to avoid getting charged for the remainder of the year (some $600+)
We eventually caved in and set up a meeting with HRBlock as it was getting very stressful.

I've always been able to do my taxes by myself back in Aus. and was pretty confident I could do the same here... guess not haha.

Just make sure that whomever you get at HRBlock is experienced with health care exemptions. I would have recommended a local office that was open year round as their people tend to be more experienced.