Did you receive a 1095-A form from Your Health Idaho? If you applied for and received the Advance Premium Tax Credit (APTC) in 2021, you estimated your expected income for the year. And it means you get a 1095-A. Now, with the 1095-A, you’ll use your actual income for last year to reconcile the two amounts on your tax return. Yes, if you received a 1095-A, you’re required to file a tax return. {Link to blog: Here’s what you need to know.}
Your Health Idaho is required to send a 1095-A to every individual enrolled in health coverage through Idaho’s health insurance exchange. And just like a W2 or a 1099, we are also required to send copies of 1095-As to the IRS. The 1095-A will help you fill out Form 8962 that needs to be sent in when you file 2021 taxes.
Think of it this way: if you applied for a tax credit to help you lower your 2021 health insurance premiums, you applied based on your estimated 2021 income. If you qualified for the credit, you were able to take that tax credit in advance by applying one-twelfth of the credit to each month’s health insurance premium. (It was paid to your insurance carrier on your behalf.)
Now that it’s time to file your 2021 tax return, you’ll use your actual income for 2021 to reconcile the tax credit you did use with the tax credit you qualified for using your actual income. Typically, the estimated income you used to qualify and your actual income at the end of the year are close to the same, so there is little or no impact on your tax return. If there is a difference, it simply gets reported on your Form 8962 and you either pay back the difference (it increases the amount of tax you owe or decreases your refund) or there’s money owed to you (it increases the amount of your refund or decreases the amount of tax you owe).
If you need a Form 8962, visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov. All the information you need to fill it out is located on the 1095-A you received from Your Health Idaho. Remember, send Form 8962 in with your income tax return. Keep the 1095-A with your records.
If you believe there is any inaccurate information on your 1095-A form, please contact Your Health Idaho. Visit the Contact Us page for business hours and customer support options.
If you received a 1095-B, those forms were sent to individuals who had health coverage outside the Marketplace like Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or other private health insurance carriers.
Form 1095-Cs were sent to individuals with employer-provided coverage.
Neither the 1095-B nor the 1095-C carry a requirement that you file a tax return.