Hi all,

I file my own taxes. During the year 2014 I claimed my mother as a dependant. She had no income and she didnt have insurance. We were exempted from paying the penalty. All the other members of our household had employer insurance (2 adults and 2 children) The cost to purchase insurance for my mother would have been more than 8% of our AGI. She is not eligible for Medicaid because she is a new immigrant (permanent resident) and not a US citizen.

So here's the question: In 2015 she didnt have any income again but our AGI was substantially higher. But she still didnt purchase any insurance. Based on my research it would make sense to not claim her as a dependant as the tax credit for that would be lesser than the penalty. If she were to file by herself (or not file because she has no income) she wouldnt have to worry about the penalty. Am I thinking right?

So here comes the next question. In early 2015 she brought some money from her home country (about 20k) for her expenses and for any possible emergencies. Is that money taxable? It was from family funds and sent in by my father as a gift. I have also read that sums below $100k in a year is not required to be reported.

In such a case would I need to file taxes at all for my mother. She has no income but I am thinking that a no income tax return might be helpful to her at some point.