The Affordable Health Care Act, also known as Obamacare, introduced three new tax forms relevant to individuals, employers and health insurance providers. They are forms 1095-A, 1095-B and 1095-C. These forms help determine if you need to comply with the new shared responsibility payment, the fee you might have to pay if you don’t have health insurance. For individuals who bought insurance through the health care marketplace, this information will help to determine whether you are able to receive an additional premium tax credit or have to pay some back.
Shared Responsibility Payment
Any gap in qualifying insurance coverage of three months or more for you or your dependents can require you to pay an individual shared responsibility payment. This information is reported on your income tax return and is obtained from the information you provide and that provided on 1095 forms. You may be exempt from this payment if, for example:
• Affordable coverage options are not offered by your employer
• The gap in insurance coverage is three or fewer consecutive months
• You belong to a group that is explicitly exempt from participating in the Affordable Care Act by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement Overview
Form 1095-A is an IRS form for individuals who enroll in a Qualified Health Plan (QHP) through the Health Insurance Marketplace. Typically it is sent to individuals who had Marketplace coverage to allow them to:
- Claim Premium Tax Credits
- Reconcile the Credit on their returns with Advanced Premium Tax Credit Payments.
- File accurate tax returns in general, as this information can be used to help determine exemptions and the fee.
Generally 1095 forms, including the 1095-A form, are completed by the Marketplace, insurers, or an employer. Individuals will receive a completed 1095 form in the mail.
Who has to File the 1095-A Form?
The Health Insurance Marketplace (State, Federal, Regional, or Subsidiary) must file the 1095-A form. Individuals don’t have to file the form; they will use the form furnished to them to file other forms.
Can I File without a 1095-A Form?
If you got tax credits, then you’ll want to wait until you have your 1095-A form. It would be very difficult to get the Premium Tax Credit form filled out correctly without the information from your 1095-A. If you are running up against the wire, you can file for an extension on your taxes and request another form from the marketplace. Don’t forget: you can view your form online after it has been filed.
If you don’t have your 1095A form you can view it online. You can also contact the Marketplace Call Center if you find any errors on your 1095A.
For last years tax forms: NOTE: The information below remains important, however we suggest anyone dealing with 1095-A issues see the latest update from Treasury and the IRS issued on April 3rd, 2015.
For this year: 1095A forms aren’t available until after they filed. So while you can view it online earlier than you may see it in the mail, you shouldn’t expect to be able to view it any way until it is officially filed to the IRS by the Marketplace. In 2015 1095 forms were filed at the end of January and into February.
The instructions below are general directions for finding your 1095 form on HealthCare.Gov (although some users have commented with these steps not working). If you have issues please comment below and helps us clarify what is happening.
- Log in to Marketplace account
- Select your this year application (be sure you’re not choosing last year’s coverage application)
- Select “Tax forms” from the menu on the left
- View or download each Form 1095-A
- All 1095-As are also available with your Marketplace messages
Please note in some states 1095-A forms weren’t sent until the end of February in 2015. In some specific instances, your forms were not until March or later. In rare cases people did not have a 1095-A filed for them until after April 15th, an automatic extension should not be considered until all other options have been exhausted. In general, calling the Marketplace or the IRS and following up is your best bet for finding a resolution. Only when all of this fails is filing an extension due to 1095 forms suggested.
Also note: Some HealthCare.Gov customers were sent the wrong 1095 form in 2015. Check our page on getting the wrong 1095-A form to see what to do in this case.
You have until April 18, 2016, to file your 1040 and related ObamaCare forms.
