Code 1H on Form 1095-C means your employer did not offer you health coverage for that month, or offered something that didn’t count as minimum essential coverage under federal law. It appears on Line 14, which is where Applicable Large Employers report month by month what kind of health insurance they made available to each employee. For any month marked 1H, the IRS treats you as having received no qualifying offer, and that changes what tax benefits you can claim.
What 1H Means on Line 14
Form 1095-C is sent by employers with 50 or more full-time or full-time equivalent workers. Line 14 uses a set of indicator codes to describe what was offered each month, and 1H is the “no offer” code. The form itself defines it as “you were NOT offered any health coverage or you were offered coverage that is NOT minimum essential coverage.”1Internal Revenue Service. Form 1095-C – Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage
A plan meets minimum value if it covers at least 60% of average medical costs and includes meaningful physician and hospital benefits.2HealthCare.gov. Minimum Value Anything less, or nothing at all, is 1H.
Common Reasons You’ll See 1H
Seeing this code doesn’t mean anything went wrong. Several ordinary situations produce it:
- You worked part-time. Under the ACA, a full-time employee averages at least 30 hours per week, and employers have no obligation to offer coverage to anyone below that threshold.3Internal Revenue Service. Identifying Full-Time Employees
- You weren’t employed yet. Months before your hire date will show 1H.
- You were in a waiting period. Federal law lets employers wait up to 90 days before coverage starts.4eCFR. 45 CFR 147.116 – Prohibition on Waiting Periods That Exceed 90 Days
- You left the job. Post-employment months typically show 1H, even if COBRA was available; actual COBRA enrollment is tracked separately in Part III.
- The coverage offered didn’t qualify. Less common, but a plan that fails the minimum essential coverage definition still lands here.
If your form shows a mix of codes — 1E for some months and 1H for others — that just reflects a change in your status during the year. The codes are assigned one month at a time.
What 1H Means for the Premium Tax Credit
This is where the code affects your money. The Premium Tax Credit lowers what you pay for marketplace insurance, and one of the main things that disqualifies you is having access to affordable, minimum-value employer coverage. Because 1H confirms no such offer existed, it removes that disqualifier for the months it covers.5Internal Revenue Service. Questions and Answers on Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions Under the Affordable Care Act
You still have to meet the other rules. For the 2026 tax year, household income generally must fall between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. The temporary expansion that removed the 400% cap expired at the end of 2025 and was not renewed.6Internal Revenue Service. Premium Tax Credit (PTC) Overview
For reference, a plan is considered affordable in 2026 if your share of the lowest-cost self-only coverage doesn’t exceed 9.96% of household income.7Internal Revenue Service. Rev. Proc. 2025-25 With 1H on your form, neither the affordability test nor the minimum value test comes into play, because there was no offer to evaluate.
If you enrolled in marketplace coverage and got advance credits, you’ll reconcile them on Form 8962 when you file, regardless of what appears on your 1095-C.
Reading 1H Together With Line 16
Line 14 describes what was offered. Line 16 explains why the employer thinks it doesn’t owe a penalty for that month. The Line 16 entries most often paired with 1H are:
- 2A, meaning you weren’t employed during the month at all.
- 2B, meaning you weren’t a full-time employee that month.
- 2D, covering a limited non-assessment period such as a waiting period or new-hire orientation.
When 1H sits next to one of these codes, the employer is telling the IRS it had a legitimate reason not to make an offer. If Line 16 is blank next to 1H for months you actually worked full-time, that’s worth questioning — the coding may be off, or the employer may face penalty exposure.8Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1094-C and 1095-C
If the 1H Code Is Wrong
A wrong 1H can hurt you either way. If your employer actually offered you qualifying coverage but reported 1H, claiming the Premium Tax Credit based on that form could cause problems later when the IRS matches the data. If you were offered nothing but the form shows a coverage code like 1E, you might wrongly assume you can’t claim marketplace subsidies.
Contact your employer’s HR or benefits office first. The IRS instructions direct employees who believe their form is incorrect to request a correction from the employer.8Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1094-C and 1095-C Only the employer can issue a corrected 1095-C to you and the IRS. You cannot file a correction on your own.
Don’t stall your tax return while you wait. File using what you know to be accurate. Keep documentation that backs your version — enrollment confirmations, offer letters, emails about benefits eligibility — in case the IRS asks questions.
When to Expect Your Form
For the 2025 tax year, employers must furnish your copy of Form 1095-C by March 3, 2026. Their electronic filing deadline with the IRS is March 31, 2026.9Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage If yours hasn’t shown up by mid-March, reach out. You’ll want it in hand to file accurately and claim any Premium Tax Credit you’re owed.