Obamacare, Form 1095-A, and the premium tax credit

Dear Bonnie,

I received a form in the mail called a 1095-A Health Insurance Marketplace Statement. I guess this is for my taxes but what am I supposed to do with it?

Stu, Sonoma    

Dear Stu,  

You will need this form to file your 2014 income tax return. The Affordable Care Act brought additional complexity to the tax code. And this is not the only new form you must deal with. There are several new forms all relating to Obamacare. The form you received Form 1095-A Health Insurance Marketplace Statement was sent to you because you applied for health insurance through one of the exchanges on the Health Insurance Marketplace, likely Covered California. The form is not issued by the IRS. It is issued by the Marketplace where you purchased your health insurance coverage. The forms were issued at the end of January, so you likely received it in early February. If you did not receive the form (many did not), contact the Marketplace directly to obtain a copy. You will need this form when completing your income tax return. Form 1095-A provides the dates of coverage, the amounts you spent each month for the coverage, who in your household was covered and other information needed to complete IRS Form 8962 Premium Tax Credit.

The information on the 1095-A will be used to reconcile advance payments of the premium tax credit made on your behalf to your insurance provider and to calculate the premium tax credit you are claiming on your tax return. You may receive more than one Form 1095-A if different members of your household had different health plans or if you updated your coverage information during the year or if you changed plans during 2014. Other life-changing factors such as birth of a child, marriage or divorce, will impact the calculations for the Premium Tax Credit.

You may find these new forms confusing. A tax professional can certainly help you complete your tax return if that is the case. Or go to Irs.gov to find instructions for completing these forms. If you are using tax software, you may be able to input your data and the software can calculate everything for you. If you had health insurance coverage for the entire year and you did not purchase your policy through the Marketplace, simply check the box on Line 61 of Form 1040 and you are done with it.

–Bonnie Lee