I am a US citizen currently resident in a foreign country. I find it hard to understand if Form 1040 considers me covered by health insurance or not. In fact I am, but I don't know what the IRS thinks. So I followed a long trail of gobbledygook on the IRS site, and in
- Are US citizens living abroad subject to the individual shared responsibility provision?
Yes. However, U.S. citizens who are not physically present in the United States for at least 330 full days within a 12-month period are treated as having minimum essential coverage for that 12-month period. In addition, U.S. citizens who are bona fide residents of a foreign country (or countries) for an entire taxable year are treated as having minimum essential coverage for that year. In general, these are individuals who qualify for a foreign earned income exclusion under section 911 of the Internal Revenue Code. Individuals may qualify for this rule even if they cannot use the exclusion for all of their foreign earned income because, for example, they are employees of the United States. See Publication 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad, for further information on the foreign earned income exclusion. Individuals who qualify for this rule should file Form 8965, Health Coverage Exemptions, with their federal income tax returns.
***************************************************************The sentence in the third line, starting with "In addition" says that I am treated as having minimum essential coverage. Then the last sentence says that I should file form 8965. If I am considered to have the insurance why should I file for an exemption?