Questions and answers about health care information forms for individuals (Forms 1095-A, 1095-B and 1095-C)

Because of the health care law, you might receive some forms early in the year providing information about the health coverage you had or were offered in the previous year. The information below is intended to help individuals understand these forms, including who should expect to receive them and what to do with them.

The basics

1. Will I receive any health care tax forms every year to help me complete my tax return?

By early February, you may receive one or more forms providing information about the health care coverage that you had or were offered during the previous year. Much like Form W-2 and Form 1099, which include information about the income you received, these health care forms provide information that you may need when you file your individual income tax return. Like Forms W-2 and 1099, these forms will be provided to the IRS by the entity that provides the form to you.

2. When will I receive these health care tax forms?

The annual deadline for the Marketplace to provide Form 1095-A is January 31. The deadline for insurers, other coverage providers and certain employers to provide Forms 1095-B and 1095-C to individuals is January 31.

3. Must I wait to file until I receive these forms?

If you are expecting to receive a Form 1095-A, you should wait to file your income tax return until you receive that form. However, it is not necessary to wait for Forms 1095-B or 1095-C in order to file.

Some taxpayers may not receive a Form 1095-B or Form 1095-C by the time they are ready to file their tax return. While the information on these forms may assist in preparing a return, they are not required. Individual taxpayers should not wait for these forms and file their returns as they normally would.

Taxpayers can prepare and file their returns using other information about their health insurance. You should not attach any of these forms to your tax return.

4. What are the health care tax forms that I might receive and how do I use them?

Health Care Form

What to do with this form

Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement

Individuals who enrolled in health coverage for themselves or their family members through the Marketplace Marketplace

This form provides information about your Marketplace coverage.

Use Form 1095-A to complete Form 8962 PDF and reconcile advance payments of the premium tax credit or claim the premium tax credit on your tax return.

Use Form 1095-A for information on whether you and your family members had coverage that satisfies the individual shared responsibility provision.

Do not attach Form 1095-A to your tax return – keep it with your tax records.

Health Coverage Providers –

This form provides information about your health coverage.

Use Form 1095-B for information on whether you and your family members had health coverage that satisfies the individual shared responsibility provision.

Do not attach Form 1095-B to your tax return - keep it with your tax records.

Form 1095-C provides information about the health coverage offered by your employer and, in some cases, about whether you enrolled in this coverage.

Use Form 1095-C to help determine your eligibility for the premium tax credit.

Use Form 1095-C for information on whether you or any family members enrolled in certain kinds of coverage offered by your employer (sometimes referred to as “self-insured coverage”).

Do not attach Form 1095-C to your tax return - keep it with your tax records.

5. How will I receive these forms?

The Marketplace, health coverage providers and applicable large employers will mail (or hand deliver) these forms to you or provide them electronically to you, if you have consented to electronic delivery.

6. My employer or health coverage provider has suggested that I opt to receive these forms electronically rather than on paper. Are they allowed to ask me that?

Yes. Employers and health coverage providers may ask for your consent to receive the forms electronically. This is entirely acceptable and may be more convenient for you. Electronic forms provide the same information that is provided in the paper forms.

7. Will I get at least one form?

Maybe. If you were enrolled in health coverage during the year, you should receive a Form 1095-A, 1095-B, or 1095-C. In addition, if you were an employee of an employer that was an applicable large employer during the year, you may receive a Form 1095-C. If you don’t fall in either of these categories, you won’t receive a form.

8. Will I get more than one form?

Maybe. You are likely to get more than one form if you had coverage from more than one coverage provider or if you worked for more than one employer that offered coverage. You are also likely to get more than one form if you changed coverage or employers during the year or if different members of your family received coverage from different coverage providers.

The following examples illustrate when you may get more than one Form 1095 and what to do with the information on those forms.

Example 1: You are single with two dependent children. At the beginning of the year, you were unemployed, and you and your children were enrolled in coverage through the Marketplace. You received the benefit of advance payments of the premium tax credit to help pay for your coverage. In August, you started working 40 hours per week for an employer with 300 employees (an applicable large employer) that offered health insurance coverage to you and your children. However, that offer of coverage was considered unaffordable to you for purposes of the premium tax credit, so you did not enroll in it and instead continued your Marketplace coverage with advance payments of the premium tax credit. By February, you receive Form 1095-A (from the Marketplace) and Form 1095-C (from your employer).

When you complete Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit, you will use the information on Form 1095-A to reconcile advance payments of the premium tax credit and to verify that you had health coverage for the entire year. You will use Form 1095-C to verify that your employer coverage was unaffordable for you. You will not attach Form 1095-A or 1095-C to your return, but you should keep these forms with your tax records.

Example 2: You are single with no dependents. At the beginning of 2018, you were employed by employer A, which has 20 employees (and therefore is not an applicable large employer). You had coverage through A’s employer-sponsored plan, which is insurance that A purchases from health insurance issuer Q (i.e., not a “self-insured plan”). In June of 2018, you changed jobs and started working 40 hours per week for employer B, which has 500 employees (and so is an applicable large employer). You immediately began receiving coverage through that employer’s plan, which is insurance it purchases from insurance issuer. Early in 2019, both insurance companies will send you a Form 1095-B providing information about the coverage in which you were enrolled. You also will receive a Form 1095-C from employer B, the applicable large employer, providing information about the health coverage B offered you.

You will use the information on Forms 1095-B to verify that you had health coverage for each month during the year and will check the full-year coverage box on your tax return. You will not need to use Form 1095-C to help complete your return because the information about the offer of health coverage made by your employer relates to whether you are eligible for the premium tax credit and you cannot get a premium tax credit if you were not enrolled in a health plan in the Marketplace. You will not attach Form 1095-B or Form 1095-C to your tax return, but you should keep both forms with your tax records.

9. Will I get a Form 1095-C from each of my employers?

Not necessarily. You will only receive a Form 1095-C from your employer if that employer is an applicable large employer, meaning it had 50 or more full-time employees - including full-time equivalent employees - in the year before the year to which the form relates. Most employers have fewer than 50 employees and therefore are not applicable large employers required to provide Form 1095-C to their full-time employees.

Even if your employer is an applicable large employer, you will only receive a Form 1095-C for that employer if you were a full-time employee for that employer for at least one month of the year or if you are enrolled in an applicable large employer’s self-insured health plan, even if you are a part-time employee.

10. How are the forms similar?

11. How are the forms different?