Your 1095-A is a tax document your health insurance company must send you by January 31st each year if you bought coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace

The 1095-A is the form that reports your health insurance coverage to the IRS and to you. It shows what months you had coverage, how much you paid in premiums, and how much tax credit (subsidy) the government paid on your behalf. You need this form to file your federal income tax return if you bought coverage through Healthcare.gov or your state's Marketplace.

Your insurance company is legally required to mail it to you by January 31st. If you enrolled through the Marketplace and selected a plan, you will receive a 1095-A even if you only had coverage for part of the year. The form arrives at the mailing address you provided during enrollment.

If you did not receive your 1095-A by early February, or if the information on it is wrong, you have specific steps to take depending on where you bought your coverage and what went wrong.

Key Takeaways

  • Your insurance company must mail your 1095-A by January 31st to the address on file with your Marketplace account.
  • You need the 1095-A to file your taxes if you received any tax credit or subsidy to help pay your premiums.
  • If the form shows wrong coverage dates or premium amounts, contact your insurance company first, then the Marketplace if the company does not correct it.
  • If you never received a 1095-A, check your Marketplace account online — many insurers now post it there before mailing the paper copy.
  • The IRS has a specific process for filing taxes without a 1095-A, but you will likely face delays and may owe money if your actual income differed from what you reported at enrollment.

Check your Marketplace account online first

Before calling anyone, log into your Healthcare.gov account (or your state Marketplace account if you live in a state that runs its own exchange). Go to the "Documents" or "Tax Documents" section — most Marketplaces now post the 1095-A there in January, sometimes before the paper copy arrives in the mail.

If the form is there and the information looks correct, you can read and print it. You do not have to wait for the paper version, though the IRS accepts both. If the information is wrong — for example, it shows you had coverage in a month when you did not, or the premium amount is incorrect — note the specific errors before you contact anyone.

If your Marketplace account shows no 1095-A at all by late January, the next step depends on whether you enrolled through the federal Marketplace or a state-run one.

Contact your insurance company if you enrolled through Healthcare.gov

If you bought your plan on Healthcare.gov, your insurance company is responsible for sending the 1095-A. Call the customer service number on your insurance card or your most recent premium bill. Tell them you have not received your 1095-A and provide your policy number and date of birth.

The insurance company can tell you whether the form has been mailed and to what address. If it was mailed to the wrong address, ask them to send a replacement to the correct one. If they say it has not been mailed yet, ask when they expect to send it — they are required to mail by January 31st, so if it is already February, this is a problem on their end.

If the insurance company says they mailed it but you never received it, ask them to email you a copy or mail a replacement. Most large insurers can do this within a few business days. Get a reference number or confirmation email so you have proof you requested it.

Contact your state Marketplace if you enrolled there

If you live in a state that runs its own Marketplace — such as California, New York, Connecticut, or others — your state Marketplace is responsible for coordinating the 1095-A with your insurance company. Log into your state Marketplace account first and check the Documents section.

If the form is not there by late January, call your state Marketplace's customer service line. You can find the number on your state's official Marketplace website. Tell them you have not received your 1095-A and provide your process ID or policy number. They can check whether the form was generated and sent to your insurance company, and whether your mailing address is correct in their system.

If your address is wrong in the Marketplace system, update it when ready. Your insurance company uses the Marketplace's address to mail the 1095-A, so a wrong address there means the form goes to the wrong place.

What to do if the information on your 1095-A is wrong

The 1095-A shows six pieces of information: your name and Social Security number, your insurance company's name and ID number, the months you had coverage, your monthly premiums, the monthly tax credits you received, and your policy number. If any of this is incorrect, you need to report it.

Start with your insurance company. Call and explain which information is wrong. For example, if it shows you had coverage in January but you enrolled in February, or if the premium amount is wrong, the insurance company may have made an error in what they reported to the IRS. Ask them to file a corrected 1095-A with the IRS and send you a corrected copy. This is called an amended 1095-A.

If the insurance company says the form is correct and the error is actually in the Marketplace's records — for example, the Marketplace shows you had coverage when you did not — contact your state Marketplace or Healthcare.gov. They can investigate whether the coverage dates in their system are wrong and ask the insurance company to correct the 1095-A.

Keep records of every call you make: the date, the name of the person you spoke to, and what they said they would do. If you do not receive a corrected form within two weeks, follow up again.

Filing your taxes without a 1095-A

If you cannot get a 1095-A and your tax important date is approaching, you can file your taxes without it, but this creates problems. The IRS will eventually receive a copy of your 1095-A from your insurance company, and if the information does not match what you reported on your return, the IRS will send you a notice.

If you file without the form, you will need to report your best estimate of the tax credit you received. You can find this information in your Marketplace account under "Payment History" or "Tax Credit History." Write down the monthly amounts and add them up.

File your return with a note explaining that you did not receive your 1095-A but you have reported the tax credit based on your Marketplace records. Keep copies of your Marketplace statements as backup. The IRS may still contact you later to verify the information, but filing with documentation of your good-faith effort is better than not filing at all.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need the 1095-A if I did not receive any tax credit?

No. If you paid the full premium yourself and received no subsidy from the government, you do not need the 1095-A to file your taxes. However, your insurance company will still send you one for their records. You can discard it if you did not receive any tax credit.

What if I moved after I enrolled and the 1095-A went to my old address?

Update your address in your Marketplace account as soon as possible. Then call your insurance company and ask them to mail a replacement 1095-A to your new address. If the form was already mailed to your old address, you may be able to retrieve it if you still have access to that mailbox, or you can request a duplicate from your insurance company.

Can I use my Marketplace account printout instead of the official 1095-A?

The IRS prefers the official 1095-A mailed by your insurance company, but you can file with a printout from your Marketplace account if you cannot get the official form. Include a note with your return explaining why. The IRS may follow up later, but this is better than not reporting your coverage at all.

What happens if my 1095-A shows I got more tax credit than I actually deserved?

This is called a reconciliation issue. When you file your taxes, the IRS compares your actual income to the income you reported at enrollment. If your actual income was higher, you may have received too much tax credit and will owe some of it back. This is separate from getting the 1095-A itself — the form is just reporting what happened, not determining whether it was correct.

How long do I need to keep my 1095-A?

Keep it for at least three years, the same as you would keep other tax documents. The IRS can audit tax returns going back three years, so you may need to show your 1095-A as proof of your coverage and tax credit if you are audited.