Health Insurance Tax Forms 1095-A, B, and C: Form 8962 and Deadlines

Health insurance tax forms fall into two buckets: the one you must act on and the ones you keep for your records. If you or anyone in your household had Marketplace coverage, you’ll receive Form 1095-A and must file Form 8962 with your return to reconcile any advance premium tax credits.¹ If you got coverage through an employer, Medicare, Medicaid, or a non-Marketplace insurer, you’ll receive Form 1095-B or 1095-C, which are informational only and do not get attached to your return.² The federal penalty for going uninsured has been $0 since 2019, so proving coverage is no longer the point of these forms for most filers.³

Which 1095 You Get and What to Do With It

Form 1095-A (Marketplace)

If anyone in your household enrolled through the Health Insurance Marketplace, you’ll receive Form 1095-A. It lists your coverage months, the total monthly premium, the second-lowest-cost silver plan premium used as the benchmark for your credit, and any advance premium tax credit paid directly to your insurer.⁴ This is the one form you actively need at tax time. Its numbers flow directly onto Form 8962.

Form 1095-B (Other Coverage)

Form 1095-B comes from insurance companies outside the Marketplace, from government programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and from some self-insured employer plans. It confirms that you and your covered dependents had minimum essential coverage and shows which months each person was covered.⁵ Keep it with your records. Do not attach it to your return.²

Form 1095-C (Large Employer)

Employers with 50 or more full-time employees must send Form 1095-C to each full-time worker. It shows the coverage the employer offered, the months you were eligible, and your share of the lowest-cost premium.⁶ Like 1095-B, it is informational. Keep it; don’t attach it.

You may receive more than one of these forms in a single year if you switched jobs or changed coverage sources.

Form 8962: The One That Actually Changes Your Refund

If advance premium tax credits were paid for anyone in your household, you must file Form 8962 with your return, even if your income is otherwise low enough that filing wouldn’t be required.⁷ The form compares the credit you received in advance against the credit you actually qualify for based on your final income.

If your actual income came in lower than what you estimated when you applied, you generally qualify for a larger credit and the difference boosts your refund. If your income came in higher, you owe some or all of the excess back. Most filers under 400% of the federal poverty line have a cap on how much they must repay; at 400% or above, there is no cap and you repay the full excess.⁷

Skipping this form is costly. An electronic return filed without Form 8962 when it was required will be rejected outright.⁸ A paper return will be accepted but the IRS will follow up by mail. Not filing at all after receiving advance credits can cost you eligibility for advance credits in future years, leaving you to pay the full monthly premium out of pocket until the situation is resolved.⁹

Deadlines for the 2026 Filing Season

The Marketplace must send Form 1095-A to enrollees by January 31, 2026, for 2025 coverage.¹⁰ Employers and other coverage providers have until March 2, 2026, to furnish Forms 1095-B and 1095-C. Because those forms are informational, you can file your return before they arrive as long as you know your coverage details.²

Your 2025 federal return is due April 15, 2026. An automatic extension pushes the filing deadline to October 15, 2026, but does not extend the time to pay. If your Form 8962 reconciliation shows a balance owed, interest starts accruing after April 15 regardless of any extension.

If a Form Is Missing or Wrong

1095-A Not There

If your 1095-A hasn’t arrived by early February, log into your Marketplace account at HealthCare.gov, open your 2025 application, and pull the PDF from the Tax Forms menu. If a version is marked “Corrected,” use that one.¹¹ If nothing appears in your account, call the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596.

1095-B or 1095-C Not There

You do not need to wait. The IRS says you can use other coverage records, such as insurance cards, explanation-of-benefits statements, or payroll records, to prepare your return.² If you still want the form, ask your insurer, HR department, or the relevant government agency.

Wrong Information on a Form

Fix errors on Form 1095-A before you file. Call the Marketplace at 1-800-318-2596; a corrected version will be uploaded to your HealthCare.gov account and mailed to you. One narrow exception: if the only error is a demographic detail like your name or date of birth, you can correct it on your tax return without waiting for a new form.¹²

Errors on Form 1095-C are your employer’s problem to fix. Contact payroll or benefits and ask for a corrected form. The employer sends the correction to the IRS directly, so you don’t need to notify the IRS yourself.

State Coverage Mandates Still Exist

The federal penalty for going uninsured is $0, but California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia enforce their own individual mandates with financial penalties. If you live in one of these places, you may owe a state penalty for uncovered months, and some of these jurisdictions issue their own coverage forms for state filing purposes. Check your state tax agency’s website for the specifics.

If the IRS Sends You a Letter

Insurance providers and employers file copies of every 1095 form with the IRS. The IRS matches those records against your return, and a mismatch usually produces Letter 12C requesting missing or corrected information. You have 20 days from the letter’s date to respond. Do not file an amended return (Form 1040-X) in response to a 12C letter; send the missing documentation or a written explanation instead. If a refund is due once the issue is cleared, expect it roughly six to eight weeks after the IRS receives your response.¹³

The most common reason for a 12C letter is a Marketplace enrollee who filed without Form 8962. If that describes you, complete Form 8962 and send it as your response rather than starting a new return from scratch.⁸

1
Internal Revenue Service. The Premium Tax Credit – The Basics
2
Internal Revenue Service. Questions and Answers About Health Care Information Forms for Individuals
3
Internal Revenue Service. Gathering Your Health Coverage Documentation for the Tax Filing Season
4
Internal Revenue Service. Health Insurance Marketplace Statements
5
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1094-B and 1095-B
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Internal Revenue Service. Questions and Answers About Information Reporting by Employers on Form 1094-C and Form 1095-C
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8962 (2025)
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Internal Revenue Service. How to Correct an Electronically Filed Return Rejected for a Missing Form 8962
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Internal Revenue Service. Claiming the Credit and Reconciling Advance Credit Payments
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1095-A (2025)
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HealthCare.gov. How to Use Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement
12
FAQs for Marketplace Agents and Brokers. How Can I Help My Clients Make Corrections to Their Form 1095-A
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Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your Letter 12C