Form 1095-A, the Health Insurance Marketplace Statement, is a one-page IRS form with three parts: Part I identifies you and your policy, Part II lists everyone the policy covered, and Part III is a twelve-row monthly table showing your plan premium, the benchmark Silver plan premium, and any advance Premium Tax Credit paid on your behalf. If you had Marketplace coverage during the year, this is the form the exchange sends you so you can reconcile those advance payments on Form 8962.
Who Sends the Form and When It Arrives
The Marketplace that sold you your plan issues Form 1095-A, whether that is HealthCare.gov or a state-run exchange. Your insurance company does not send it, and neither does the IRS. Each form covers one calendar year and one policy, so a household with two separate policies during the year receives two forms.
The Marketplace must furnish the form by January 31 of the year after your coverage year.1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1095-A HealthCare.gov tells enrollees to expect it by mid-February.2HealthCare.gov. How to Use Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement You also get one even if you paid your full premium yourself and received zero advance credits, because the form is what lets you claim the Premium Tax Credit on your return.
Part I: Recipient Information
The top block of the form identifies the policyholder (the person listed as the tax filer at enrollment) and the plan itself. You will see the Marketplace-assigned policy number, the name of the insurance company that issued the plan, the recipient’s name and Social Security number, the coverage start and end dates, and the recipient’s address.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1095-A
If advance credits were paid on the policy, Part I also lists the recipient’s spouse’s name and SSN, even when the spouse’s own coverage came through a different plan. Two small boxes near the top of the form are worth locating on sight: a “CORRECTED” checkbox and a “VOID” checkbox. Either one changes what you should do with the form, and both are covered below.
Part II: Covered Individuals
The middle block lists every person covered under the policy: the policyholder, spouse, and any dependents. For each person, the form shows the name, SSN (or date of birth if no SSN is available), and the specific months of coverage. If your policy covered members of more than one tax family, the Marketplace may issue separate Forms 1095-A so each tax filer gets the information that applies to their own return.
Part III: Coverage Information
Part III is the reason the form exists. It is a table with twelve rows, one per month from January through December, and three dollar-amount columns labeled A, B, and C. These are the numbers you will actually copy onto your tax return.
Column A — Monthly Enrollment Premium
Column A shows the full cost of the plan you selected for that month. It includes only the portion of your premium that covers essential health benefits. If you also had a stand-alone dental plan, the pediatric dental portion of that premium is folded in here.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1095-A
Column B — Second Lowest Cost Silver Plan Premium
Column B is the monthly premium for the benchmark Silver plan in your area, known as the SLCSP. It is the second-cheapest Silver-level plan available in your rating area that would cover everyone in your tax family. The IRS uses this figure, not your actual plan cost, to calculate the maximum credit you could receive. Column A sets the ceiling on the credit (the credit cannot exceed what you paid), but Column B determines how much credit you are entitled to before that ceiling applies.
Column C — Monthly Advance Payment of Premium Tax Credit
Column C is the dollar amount the government sent directly to your insurer each month to lower your out-of-pocket premium. If you did not receive advance credits, this column will be zero for every month.4Internal Revenue Service. Form 1095-A Health Insurance Marketplace Statement
What the Numbers Are For
The monthly amounts in Columns A, B, and C transfer directly onto Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit, in Part II (lines 12 through 23, one line per month). Form 8962 then compares the advance credits you already received against the credit you actually qualify for based on your final household income.
If you received any advance credits and do not file Form 8962, the IRS will not process your return, and you lose eligibility for advance credits and cost-sharing reductions the following year.5Internal Revenue Service. Reconciling Your Advance Payments of the Premium Tax Credit Even if Column C is zero across the board, you still need the form to claim the credit you may be owed.
What to Check on the Form Before You File
Once you have located the three parts, look the form over for a handful of features that change how you use it.
The Corrected Box
If the Marketplace found and fixed an error on your original form, you will receive a new one with the “CORRECTED” box checked. Use the corrected version, not the original. If you already filed using the original, the IRS says you generally do not need to amend your return, though you may choose to if the correction would produce a larger refund.6Internal Revenue Service. Corrected, Incorrect or Voided Form 1095-A
The Void Box
A form with the “VOID” box checked means the Marketplace issued the original in error, often because enrollment was never completed. Do not use a voided form or the original it replaces to claim the credit. If you already filed using a form that has since been voided, file an amended return. If you believe the void is itself a mistake and you did have coverage, contact the Marketplace right away for an accurate form.6Internal Revenue Service. Corrected, Incorrect or Voided Form 1095-A
Blank or Zero in Column B
A blank or zero SLCSP amount is one of the more common problems. You cannot leave it blank on Form 8962. Use the HealthCare.gov tax tool to look up the correct SLCSP premium for your area and household size, then enter that figure on Form 8962 in place of the missing amount.7HealthCare.gov. Health Coverage Tax Tool Filing without a correct SLCSP will trigger an IRS notice and delay processing.
More Than One Form
You will receive multiple Forms 1095-A if you switched plans mid-year, reported a life change that started a new enrollment, or had family members on separate policies. Enter each form’s data on the line for the corresponding month on Form 8962. If two forms cover the same month because you overlapped plans briefly, add the Column A and Column C amounts for that month, but for Column B use only the SLCSP that applies to your tax family; do not add SLCSP amounts from separate forms for the same month. If two forms from the same Marketplace share the policy number in Box 2, use only the most recent version.8HealthCare.gov. How to Find Your Form 1095-A Online
Other Wrong Information
If the policy number, coverage dates, names, or SLCSP figures on the form are wrong, contact the Marketplace to request a correction. The Marketplace will issue a replacement form with the “CORRECTED” box checked.6Internal Revenue Service. Corrected, Incorrect or Voided Form 1095-A
If the form never arrived, log in to your Marketplace account and download a digital copy rather than waiting on the mail. Do not file your return without it; skipping the reconciliation cuts off your advance credits for the next year.5Internal Revenue Service. Reconciling Your Advance Payments of the Premium Tax Credit