Form 1095-A: Health Insurance Marketplace Statement Overview

Form 1095-A: Health Insurance Marketplace Statement is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) form sent to anyone who has received health insurance coverage through a Health Insurance Marketplace carrier. The form details information such as the effective date of the coverage, premium amounts, and any advance payments of the premium tax credit or subsidy.

The form was created with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as "Obamacare." Under the ACA, you are required to have health insurance, which affects your income taxes. You may owe a penalty if you failed to obtain health insurance coverage. On the other hand, if you do carry health insurance, you may be eligible for a tax credit.

You will receive Form 1095-A if you enrolled in a qualified health plan via the Health Insurance Marketplace or Exchange. The exchanges use the form to provide participants in different individual markets with information on their coverage.

You do not have to submit Form 1095-A itself. Instead, you should keep it for your records after you've filed your tax return. You usually have to provide information from these forms, or acknowledge that you have received one of them, on your federal tax return.

The form is issued, as suggested by its title, by the Health Insurance Marketplace.

When preparing your tax return, you (or your tax preparer) will use 1095-A to fill out Form 8962: Premium Tax Credit.

According to the IRS, if you are expecting to receive a Form 1095-A, you should wait to file your income tax return until you receive it. Because it deals with the claiming or reporting of tax credits, which in turn affects the amount of income tax you owe or any refunds you are due, 1095-A is considered crucial in the filing process.

Taxpayers should receive their Forms 1095-A by January 31 of the year following the coverage year, either via the mail or in their HealthCare.gov accounts. Individuals who don't receive their forms, or see inaccuracies in them, can contact HealthCare.gov directly.

The form contains your personal information including your name, address, and Social Security number. Your policy number and insurance company name also appear on the form. The form outlines which months you received coverage and the amount you paid each month for your premiums.

[Important: The federal mandate will no longer be in effect as of 2019, so penalties will not be assessed.]

Click this link for a downloadable copy of Form 1095-A: Health Insurance Marketplace Statement.