How to Get Form 1095-C From a Previous Employer

To get Form 1095-C from a previous employer, contact the company’s human resources or payroll department directly, log into any payroll portal you still have access to (ADP, Workday, or a similar system), or call the IRS Healthcare Hotline at 800-919-0452 if the employer has gone silent or out of business.¹²³

What to Have Ready Before You Ask

Payroll departments at large companies handle a heavy volume of these requests every winter, and a vague inquiry gets pushed to the bottom of the queue. A few details pulled together in advance make the difference between a same-week reply and a month of follow-up.

Full legal name and Social Security number. If your name changed during or after employment, give both versions.
The exact tax year or years you need. Employers keep these records for at least three years from the return’s due date, so older years are still fair game.³
The employer’s legal business name. The company you worked for day to day may not be the entity that ran payroll. Check an old W-2; the name in Box C is the one that matters.
Approximate start and end dates of employment.
Your current mailing address, especially if it has changed since you left.

Calling HR or Payroll

A direct call or email to the former employer is usually the fastest route. Ask for whoever handles ACA reporting or tax compliance. At larger companies this is often a dedicated role, separate from general HR. If you still have any prior copy of your 1095-C, even a damaged one, the phone number on Line 10 is the direct contact for questions about the form.⁴

Confirm on the call how the replacement will be delivered. Employers must send the form on paper by mail unless you have given written consent to receive it electronically, and that consent has to specifically authorize electronic delivery of Form 1095-C. A general preference for paperless communications does not count.⁴ If you want it emailed, say so during the conversation and follow up in writing if the employer asks.

Fees for reissuing a 1095-C are uncommon. The employer is legally required to furnish it, and most payroll teams treat replacement requests as routine paperwork.

Retrieving the Form From an Online Portal

Many large employers use payroll platforms that keep tax documents available to former employees after separation. If you used ADP, Workday, or a similar system during your job, your 1095-C may already be sitting in the tax documents section, ready to download.

Login credentials often expire after you leave, but most platforms offer a self-service password reset tied to the personal email address on file. If that fails, the platform’s support line can usually verify your identity and restore limited access. This route is often quicker than going through HR, particularly if the company has been acquired, restructured, or is slow to answer email.

If you previously consented to electronic delivery through that portal, downloading the form from it generally satisfies the delivery rules, and you can pull it immediately rather than wait for a mailed copy.

When the Employer Won’t Respond

If a former employer has gone out of business, cannot be reached, or is simply ignoring you, call the IRS Healthcare Hotline at 800-919-0452 to report the missing form.¹ The IRS can contact the employer directly to demand compliance.

Employers that fail to furnish correct 1095-C statements face escalating penalties. For returns due in 2026, the IRS charges $60 per form if the employer is up to 30 days late, $130 per form between 31 days late and August 1, and $340 per form after August 1 or never filed. Intentional disregard raises the penalty to $680 per return.⁵ Those numbers give the IRS real leverage, and a polite mention of them during your own follow-up rarely hurts.

When the Form Is Due

For the 2025 tax year, employers must furnish Form 1095-C to employees by March 2, 2026. The deadline used to be January 31, but IRS regulations now build in an automatic 30-day extension every year, pushing the date to early March permanently.⁶ If you left partway through the year, the former employer still owes you a form covering the months you worked full-time. Many wait until the last week of February to send them, so silence in mid-February is not yet a problem.

Once you request a replacement, the employer has 30 days from the date they receive the request to send it.³

Do You Actually Need It to File?

Here is the part most people don’t realize: you do not need Form 1095-C to file your federal tax return, and you should not attach it even if you have it. The IRS is clear that taxpayers may file using other records of their health coverage.⁷ Keep the form for your records once it arrives, but do not let a missing one hold up your return.

Documentation that shows you had coverage includes insurance cards, explanation-of-benefits statements from the insurer, W-2 or payroll records showing health insurance deductions, and any written statement from the insurance company confirming enrollment dates.⁸

The 1095-C matters most when the premium tax credit is in play. If you left employer coverage and enrolled in a marketplace plan during the same year, the 1095-C helps establish which months your employer offered affordable coverage, which directly affects how much credit you can claim. Form 1095-A from the marketplace is the document you use to complete Form 8962 and reconcile any advance credit payments.⁹ The 1095-C is the backup showing whether your employer’s coverage was affordable enough to disqualify you from the credit for particular months.

Fixing Errors Once You Get It

If the form arrives with wrong information, an incorrect Social Security number, wrong coverage offer codes, inaccurate contribution amounts, or missing months, call the number on Line 10 and ask for a corrected form.⁴ The employer is required to issue the correction as soon as possible after discovering the error, file it with the IRS, and furnish you a copy.

One narrow exception: if the dollar amount on Line 15 (your required contribution for coverage) is off by $100 or less, the IRS treats that as a minor rounding error and does not require a corrected form. You can still request a correction, but a small discrepancy there usually won’t change anything on your return.⁴

Errors worth chasing are the ones that affect premium tax credit eligibility. A form that shows you were offered affordable coverage during months when you actually weren’t could shrink or wipe out a credit you’re entitled to. A corrected version on file with the IRS protects you if the return is later questioned.

A Note on State Coverage Mandates

The federal penalty for lacking health insurance has been $0 since 2019, so a missing 1095-C will not trigger a federal tax penalty. Five states and the District of Columbia, however, enforce their own individual coverage mandates with real financial penalties for gaps. If you live in one of those jurisdictions, the 1095-C is your documentation that you had qualifying coverage through your employer, which is one more reason to run down the copy rather than let it go.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Form 1095-C
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6056 – Certain Employers Required to Report on Health Insurance Coverage
3
Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Forms 1094-C and 1095-C
4
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1094-C and 1095-C
5
Internal Revenue Service. Information Return Penalties
6
eCFR. 26 CFR 301.6056-1 – Rules Relating to Reporting by Applicable Large Employers on Health Insurance Coverage Offered Under Employer-Sponsored Plans
7
Internal Revenue Service. Questions and Answers About Health Care Information Forms for Individuals
8
Internal Revenue Service. Gathering Your Health Coverage Documentation for the Tax Filing Season
9
Internal Revenue Service. Claiming the Credit and Reconciling Advance Credit Payments