When Are 1095 Forms Due to Employees and the IRS?

For the 2025 tax year, 1095 form deadlines fall on three different dates. Form 1095-A from the health insurance marketplace must reach you by January 31, 2026. Forms 1095-B and 1095-C from insurers and large employers get an automatic 30-day extension, pushing their delivery deadline to March 2, 2026. Employers and insurers must then file their copies with the IRS by March 2, 2026 on paper or March 31, 2026 electronically.

Form 1095-A From the Marketplace

If you bought coverage through a federal or state health insurance exchange, the exchange must deliver Form 1095-A, the Health Insurance Marketplace Statement, by January 31 of the year after your coverage year. For 2025 coverage, that means January 31, 2026.1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1095-A (2025) If the date falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day.

This form matters more than the others because you actually need it to file. Form 1095-A feeds into Form 8962, which reconciles your Premium Tax Credit.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8962 (2025) The reconciliation compares any advance credit payments that lowered your monthly premiums against the credit you actually qualify for based on final income. Too much advance credit and you owe money back; too little and you get the difference as a refund.

If your 1095-A hasn’t arrived by early February, you don’t have to wait for the mail. Download it from your HealthCare.gov account, retrieve it through an approved Enhanced Direct Enrollment website, or pull it from your IRS Individual Online Account.3CMS: Agent and Brokers FAQ. How Do Consumers Receive Their Form 1095-A? If you enrolled through a state-based marketplace, check that marketplace’s site instead.

Forms 1095-B and 1095-C From Insurers and Employers

Forms 1095-B and 1095-C follow a later schedule. The base delivery deadline is January 31, but federal regulations grant an automatic 30-day extension to everyone who issues them.4eCFR. 26 CFR 1.6055-1 – Information Reporting for Minimum Essential Coverage For the 2025 tax year, that extended deadline is March 2, 2026, because February 28 falls on a Saturday.

Form 1095-B comes from insurance companies and covers people enrolled in plans not offered through a large employer: individual market plans, Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and TRICARE. Form 1095-C comes from applicable large employers, meaning those with 50 or more full-time employees (counting full-time equivalents) in the prior year.5Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1094-C and 1095-C (2025) You don’t attach either form to your tax return, but you should keep them with your records.6Internal Revenue Service. Questions and Answers About Health Care Information Forms for Individuals

You May Not Receive Form 1095-B in the Mail

Insurers issuing Form 1095-B don’t always have to send you a physical copy. Under an alternative delivery method, the provider can post a clear notice on its website telling individuals they may request a statement. The notice must list an email address, a mailing address, and a phone number for requests.7Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Forms 1094-B and 1095-B

For the 2025 tax year, the notice must go up by March 2, 2026 and stay up through October 15, 2026. Once you request your form, the provider has 30 days to send it.7Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Forms 1094-B and 1095-B So if you’re expecting a 1095-B and it never shows up, check your insurer’s website or call them.

IRS Filing Deadlines for Employers and Insurers

Beyond sending copies to individuals, employers and insurers must file the same information with the IRS. The deadline depends on the filing method.

Any organization filing 10 or more information returns of any type during the calendar year must file electronically.8eCFR. 26 CFR 301.6011-2 – Required Use of Electronic Form The 10-return threshold counts every information return combined, not just health coverage forms, so most employers with any real workforce will end up on the electronic deadline.

Getting More Time to File

Employers and insurers that can’t meet the IRS filing deadline can request more time by submitting Form 8809, Application for Extension of Time to File Information Returns. Filed before the original due date, it grants an automatic 30-day extension with no justification required.9Internal Revenue Service. Form 8809 (Rev. December 2025) – Application for Extension of Time to File Information Returns Form 8809 can go through the IRS FIRE system or by mail.10Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8809, Application for Extension of Time to File Information Returns

Two limits are worth knowing. The extension only pushes back the IRS filing deadline; it does nothing for the deadline to deliver forms to individuals. And once the 30 days expire, no further automatic extension is available for health coverage forms. Additional time requires demonstrating specific hardship, and approval isn’t guaranteed.

An organization that would face undue hardship filing electronically can request a waiver on Form 8508, submitted at least 45 days before the return’s due date.11Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 803, Electronic Filing Waivers or Exemptions and Filing Extensions An approved waiver lets the organization file on paper, subject to the earlier paper deadline.

What Late Forms Cost

The IRS charges two separate penalties for two separate failures: not filing correct returns with the IRS on time, and not delivering correct statements to individuals on time. Both apply per form, so one late return can generate two penalties.

For returns due in 2026, the inflation-adjusted late-filing penalties are:12Internal Revenue Service. Information Return Penalties

  • Up to 30 days late: $60 per return, capped at $683,000 per year ($239,000 for small businesses with average gross receipts of $5 million or less)
  • 31 days late through August 1: $130 per return, capped at $2,049,000 ($683,000 for small businesses)
  • After August 1 or never filed: $340 per return, capped at $4,098,500 ($1,366,000 for small businesses)
  • Intentional disregard: $680 per return with no cap

The penalty structure for late delivery to individuals mirrors these amounts: $60, $130, and $340 per statement at the same tiers, and $680 per statement for intentional disregard with no cap.12Internal Revenue Service. Information Return Penalties13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6722 – Failure to Furnish Correct Payee Statements An employer with hundreds of full-time employees can face six-figure exposure from a short delay, since each form draws a penalty on both sides.