Taxes What Is Form 1095-A: Health Insurance Marketplace Statement? What You Need To Know About Form 1095-A in Less Than 4 Minutes By Joshua Wiesenfeld Joshua Wiesenfeld Joshua Wiesenfeld is a financial investigator, certified public accountant (CPA), and certified fraud examiner (CFE) with almost a decade of experience. He writes about taxes and investing and has been published in the Journal of Accountancy and Fraud Magazine. Joshua has a master's of public administration in forensic accounting from John Jay College. learn about our editorial policies Updated on December 19, 2022 Reviewed by Ebony J. Howard Reviewed by Ebony J. Howard Ebony Howard is a certified public accountant and a QuickBooks ProAdvisor tax expert. She has been in the accounting, audit, and tax profession for more than 13 years, working with individuals and a variety of companies in the health care, banking, and accounting industries. learn about our financial review board Fact checked by Suzanne Kvilhaug Fact checked by Suzanne Kvilhaug Suzanne received a Bachelor's Degree in Finance and has worked as a journalist for over a decade. She works as a fact-checker on a variety of financial topics for The Balance and Investopedia. learn about our editorial policies In This Article View All In This Article How Form 1095-A Works Where To Get Form 1095-A What To Do If You Don't Receive Form 1095-A How To Read 1095-A You Don't Need To File Form 1095-A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Photo: Oscar Wong / Getty Images Definition Form 1095-A: Health Insurance Marketplace Statement is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) form provided to individuals who purchase health insurance through a health insurance marketplace carrier in time to file taxes. Form 1095-A need not be returned to the IRS, but is used to report health coverage on individual tax returns. Key Takeaways If you purchase health insurance through a health insurance marketplace carrier, you’ll receive a Form 1095-A: Health Insurance Marketplace Statement from the marketplace.Form 1095-A contains dates of coverage, premiums paid, premium tax credits used, and a figure called the Second Lowest Cost Silver Plan (SLCSP).If you have not received Form 1095-A by mid-February, contact the marketplace where you purchased health insurance.Form 1095-A isn't filed with the IRS, but it's used to fill out Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit, which is submitted to the IRS along with your tax return. How Form 1095-A Works Form 1095-A: Health Insurance Marketplace Statement is provided to taxpayers who purchased health insurance through a health insurance marketplace carrier. It’s used to report health insurance coverage to the IRS. When Congress passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, health insurance coverage was mandated for all Americans. As a result, state-based American Health Benefit Exchanges were established for Americans to purchase subsidized health insurance plans. The ACA also included an individual mandate, which fined taxpayers who failed to purchase insurance. Form 1095-A was introduced so taxpayers could provide proof of coverage and claim tax credits. Congress repealed the individual mandate (effective 2019), but marketplace providers still furnish insured individuals with Form 1095-A. Note Form 1095-A should not be returned to the IRS along with tax returns, but you should keep it for your personal records after you use it for filing your taxes. Who Uses Form 1095-A? Form 1095-A: Health Insurance Marketplace Statement is used by individuals who purchase their health insurance through a health insurance marketplace. The form is used to report health insurance coverage to the IRS during tax season, but the form should not be returned to the IRS. Where To Get Form 1095-A You will receive your Form 1095-A through the mail from the marketplace. It is sent to all individuals who purchased insurance through a health insurance marketplace. The form should arrive no later than mid-February, in time to use it to do your taxes by the annual tax-filing deadline, which is usually April 15. What To Do If You Don't Receive Form 1095-A If you didn’t get your Form 1095 in the mail or would prefer to have an electronic version, you can access it online by logging into your HealthCare.gov account. Then, follow these steps: Select your application for the filing year under “Your Existing Applications.”Select “Tax Forms” on the left side menu.Download all the 1095 forms. If you used a state-based marketplace to purchase your insurance, you may be able to get a copy of Form 1095-A from your state-based marketplace account. Note If you have insurance through the federal Marketplace and have not received Form 1095-A by mid-February, contact the Marketplace from which you received coverage, or call 1-800-318-2596 (TTY: 1-855-889-4325). You can’t send email requests. Wait until you have received the form before filing taxes. How To Read 1095-A Form 1095-A contains information about qualified marketplace plans used by any member of your household. This information includes dates of coverage, the amount of premiums paid, premium tax credits used, and a figure called the Second Lowest Cost Silver Plan (SLCSP). The SLCSP refers to the second-lowest-priced applicable marketplace health insurance plan in the Silver category. Even though you may not have enrolled in this plan, you still need to know your SLCSP premium to figure out your final premium tax credit. Form 1095-A is used to fill out Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit, which is submitted to the IRS along with your personal tax return. Form 8962 reconciles the difference between the premium tax credit you used and the amount you qualify for. You Don't Need To File Form 1095-A While Form 1095-A is used to complete Form 8962, you do not need to file Form 1095-A with the IRS (by mail or otherwise). The form should be kept for your personal records. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) What is Form 1095-C? Form 1095-C is similar to Form 1095-A, but it's for employer-sponsored health insurance. Form 1095-C will detail coverage you received through an employer (as long as you were an employee for at least one month). How does Form 1095-A affect my taxes? Form 1095-A doesn't directly affect your taxes, but it's used to fill out Form 8962. Form 8962 has to do with premium tax credits. If you didn't take advance premium tax credits, then Form 8962 will reduce your taxable income on your returns. If you did take advance premium tax credits, then Form 8962 will reconcile any differences between the estimated tax credits you received through the year and the actual tax credit you're due. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. HealthCare.gov. "Fee." HealthCare.gov. "How To Use Form 1095-A." HealthCare.gov. "How To Use Form 1095-A." Internal Revenue Service. "Instructions for Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit (PTC)," Page 2. Internal Revenue Service. "About Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage." Internal Revenue Service. "About Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit."