What to Do With the New Proof of Health Insurance Tax Form
Most people simply need to keep Form 1095 with their tax files.
I just received a Form 1095-C from my employer about my health insurance. I already filed my taxes for 2015. Do I need to make any changes because of this form, and should I have sent it in with my tax return?
You don’t need to make any changes to your return, and you don’t send the IRS a copy of the form (the IRS already received a copy from your employer). Keep the form with your tax files to provide evidence that you and your dependents had “minimum essential health coverage” for 2015. If you had eligible coverage for the full year, you should have checked the box on line 61 of your Form 1040 so you wouldn’t have to pay a penalty for going without insurance.
Employers with more than 50 full-time employees were required to send out Form 1095-C by March 31. The form shows the coverage you were offered by your employer and the months when you and any dependents chose to participate in the program. It also shows the employee share of the lowest-cost monthly premium for self-only coverage, which may be different from the amount you paid in premiums if you chose a more expensive policy (this information is used to calculate whether the employer’s premiums are considered to be affordable).
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Employers with fewer than 50 full-time employees had to send out Form 1095-B by the same deadline, which shows the months that you and your dependents were covered.
People who bought insurance through their state marketplace receive Form 1095-A, “Health Insurance Marketplace Statement,” which includes information about coverage purchased for you and anyone in your household. This form should have been mailed out by mid-February this year, but you can also access it through the HealthCare.gov website if you haven’t received it yet, says Alex Tolbert, CEO of Bernard Health, which helps consumers make health care decisions. See 2015 Health Coverage and Your Federal Taxes for more information.
People who received a subsidy to help with premiums on the marketplace will need the information on Form 1095-A when they file their taxes. This form lists monthly premiums, the premium for the second-lowest-cost silver plan (the benchmark premium that was used to calculate the subsidy) and any subsidy you received to help pay the premiums (called the “advance payment of the premium tax credit”). You will need this information to fill out Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit, to reconcile whether you should receive more of a subsidy or pay back some of the subsidy you received. See the Instructions for Recipient with Form 1095-A and the worksheets with the Instructions for Form 8962 for more information about the calculation.
If you didn’t have “minimum essential coverage” for the full year (either through an employer or on your own), you may need to pay the penalty, unless you are exempt from the coverage requirement. If you can claim an exemption, such as if you went without coverage for less than three consecutive months or if your income was below a certain level, you’ll file Form 8965, Health Coverage Exemptions, with your 1040. See the Instructions for Form 8965 for more information. Also see Individual Shared Responsibility Provision Exemptions.
For more information about health insurance and your 2015 taxes, see the IRS’s Affordable Care Act Tax Provisions information page, including its Questions and Answers About Health Care Information Forms for Individuals.
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