This year, as a result of regulations in the Affordable Care Act, employees will be receiving a new tax document in addition to their W-2 form. These forms will contain information that employees need to file their 2015 individual income tax returns. These forms may be sent by the health insurance provider and/or the employer (or Helpside for some clients) depending in the form required.

Form 1095-A

If your company participates on a health plan outside of Helpside that is from the health insurance marketplace, or if your employees have a plan they obtained on their own through the marketplace, they will receive 1095-A form. These forms are completed and sent by the marketplace health insurance provider.

This form includes:

  • The plan participant’s name
  • The amount of coverage they have
  • The tax credits they were entitled to
  • How much the participant paid for health insurance and how much was covered by tax credits.

This information will be needed for the employee to file their individual income tax return, adjust any tax credit payments and claim any premium tax credits that may be due for 2015.

Form 1095-B

Employees at companies that are considered non-applicable large employers (those with less than 50 full time equivalent employees) who offer a health plan will be sent a 1095-B form. These forms are completed and sent by the health insurance provider. This means that for non-applicable large employers who participate in the Helpside Employee Medical Plan, Helpside will produce and send these statements to participating employees.

This form includes:

  • The type of coverage the employee has
  • Which, if any, dependents are covered by the plan
  • The period of time the employee was covered under the plan

The 1095-B statements will be used by the individual to complete their tax return and establish that they had Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) during particular months, satisfying the individual mandate.

Form 1095-C

Employees at companies that are considered applicable large employers (those with more than 50 full time equivalent employees) will be sent a 1095-C form. These forms are completed and sent by the employer, often with the assistance of the health insurance provider. Applicable large employers who participate on the Helpside Medical Plan may have elected to have Helpside assist with this notification or may have chosen to complete it on their own.

This form includes:

  • Information about the health coverage offered by the employer
  • Whether the employee was enrolled in this coverage
  • Which, if any, dependents are covered by the plan

Employees may need this information if they are applying for coverage through the health insurance marketplace instead of their employer in addition to the information for filing individual income tax returns.

Do employees need to wait to receive a 1095 form in order to file their 2015 individual income taxes?

According to the IRS, if you are expecting to receive a Form 1095-A, you should wait to file your 2015 income tax return until you receive that form.  However, it is not necessary to wait for Forms 1095-B or 1095-C in order to file.

The information on the 1095-B and 1095 C forms may assist employees in preparing their return, but they are not required. Employees expecting to receive a 1095-B or 1095-C can prepare and file their returns using other information about their health insurance. None of these forms will need to be attached to an employee’s tax return.

The vendor Helpside has partnered with to send out our 1095-B and 1095-C form has indicated that employees should have their forms by February 1, 2016. The forms will be arriving from a company called Sovos in an envelope that indicates that tax documents are enclosed.

If you have further questions about receiving your 1095 tax forms, please contact a member of our Account Management team for assistance at 1-800-748-5102 or service@helpside.com