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This pertains to tax year 2017. My girlfriend filed her taxes and filled out form 8965 (healthcare coverage exemptions form). She checked the box indicating that she had a "pending" hardship exemption that the healthcare marketplace was still processing. As a result she did not have to pay any sort of penalty at the time of filing. The hardship exemption was eventually granted and they gave her a certificate number a few months later.

Since it will have zero impact on the amount of taxes she pays do we need to refile a 1040x along with an updated form 8965 that lists the hardship certificate number?

Only guidance I can find from form 8965 states:

If you enter “pending” and the Marketplace ultimately denies your coverage exemption (and you didn’t report or claim another coverage exemption with your original return), the IRS may contact you to collect your shared responsibility payment, or you may choose to file an amended tax return (Form 1040X) to make your shared responsibility payment or claim another exemption for which you are eligible.

That situation does not apply to her since her exemption was ultimately approved. So should we just wait and see if IRS contacts us to inquire about this?

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  • I added the United-states tag, which is required for all tax questions based on the tax forms and laws you referenced. If this is incorrect, please adjust accordingly.
    – JohnFx
    Dec 30, 2018 at 17:22

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It is clear from the instructions you quoted that there is no need to file an amended return. If it were expected, it would say so explicitly.

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