Massachusetts Health Insurance Tax Penalty for Nonresidents

The Massachusetts Health Reform Act, as codified in Chapter 111M of the Massachusetts General Laws, requires that adult state residents who can afford health insurance coverage must have it or else be required to pay a penalty with their state personal income taxes.

Insurance Requirement Applicability

The law requires persons who are "residents" of Massachusetts, as "residents" is defined in section 1 of Chapter 111M, to obtain health insurance. It does not mention any such requirement for "nonresidents."

Penalty Applicability

While the requirement to obtain health insurance applies generally to "residents" as defined in law, the particular penalty provisions of the law apply to any persons who file or are required to file individual personal income tax returns as a "resident" as it is defined in section 1 of Chapter 62 of the Massachusetts General Laws.

Taxation "Residency"

For taxation purposes, and thus coming under the penalty provisions of the Health Reform Act, a resident pursuant to Chapter 62 is a person who is "domiciled" in Massachusetts or who is not domiciled but "maintains a permanent place of abode" in the state and is in the state for more than 183 days of a taxable year. Those who do not qualify under this description are classified as nonresidents.

Penalties

The penalties that may be assessed, administered by the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, may be assessed for each month that a taxpayer is without qualified health insurance. Penalties are based on factors including the cost of available health care and federal poverty guidelines.

References

• Commonwealth of Massachusetts: The General Laws of Massachusetts, Chapter 111M. Individual Health Coverage, Section 2
• MassResources: Health Insurance Requirements in Massachusetts
• Massachusetts Department of Revenue: 830 CMR 111M.2.1: Health Insurance Individual Mandate; Personal Income Tax Return Requirements
• Commonwealth of Massachusetts: The General Laws of Massachusetts, Chapter 111M. Individual Health Coverage, Section 1
• Commonwealth of Massachusetts: The General Laws of Massachusetts, Chapter 62. Taxation of Incomes