What Is Form 1095-B and What Do I Do With It?

Form 1095-B, Health Coverage, is a tax document providing proof you had qualifying health insurance for some or all of the previous year. It originated with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to verify that individuals maintained minimum essential coverage. While the federal penalty for not having health insurance was reduced to $0 in 2019, providers still issue the form. The information is reported to the IRS and may be required for state-level tax filing.

Who Receives Form 1095-B

This form is sent to individuals and their dependents who had health insurance from specific sources during the tax year. You receive Form 1095-B if your coverage provider is not a large employer or a Health Insurance Marketplace. Issuers include insurance companies for plans purchased outside of government marketplaces and small employers with self-insured health plans.

Providers of government-sponsored health programs are also a major issuer of Form 1095-B, including:

• Coverage under Medicare Part A
• Medicaid
• The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
• Tricare for military members
• Certain medical benefits for veterans

The purpose is to distinguish this coverage from plans offered by large employers, who issue Form 1095-C, or plans from the Marketplace, which generate Form 1095-A.

Understanding the Information on Your Form

Form 1095-B presents coverage information across four parts. Part I is dedicated to the “Responsible Individual,” which is the primary person who holds the policy. This section contains their name, address, and Social Security number.

Part II, “Information About Certain Employer-Sponsored Coverage,” will be blank for most recipients as it only applies in specific circumstances related to certain employer plans. Part III provides the contact information for the entity that provided your health coverage, identifying the name, address, and phone number of the issuer, employer, or government agency.

Part IV, “Covered Individuals,” is a grid listing the name and Social Security number for every person covered under the policy, including the responsible individual and any dependents. For each person, there are checkboxes corresponding to the 12 months of the year. A checkmark indicates that the individual had minimum essential coverage for that specific month, providing a month-by-month record of coverage for the tax year.

What to Do With Form 1095-B

You are not required to submit Form 1095-B with your federal income tax return. The information has already been reported to the IRS by your coverage provider. The primary action for federal purposes is to keep the form for your personal records. It serves as official documentation of your health coverage and should be stored with your other important tax documents, like W-2s and 1099s.

While the federal penalty is zero, some states have their own individual health insurance mandates. These states may require you to report your health coverage status on your state income tax return to avoid a state-level penalty. In these cases, the information on your Form 1095-B is necessary to complete your state tax filing. You should consult your state’s tax regulations to determine if you need to use the form.

If you find incorrect information on your Form 1095-B, such as a misspelled name or inaccurate coverage months, it is important to get it corrected. You should not contact the IRS to fix these errors. You must directly contact the provider who issued the form, whose contact details are listed in Part III. They are responsible for issuing a corrected form, which they will also need to file with the IRS.