Tips for Filing 1095-B

Form 1095-B revolves around health coverage. Essentially, it reports the type of coverage you have, dependents covered by your insurance policy, as well as the period of coverage for the prior year. Form 1095-B verifies that you and your dependents have at least minimum qualifying health insurance coverage. If for whatever reason you had a break in health care coverage for the tax year, you may have to pay a tax penalty.Keep reading to learn more about filing Form 1095-B.

Minimum Essential Coverage

Keep in mind there is a minimum level of benefits your insurance must provide for you to avoid paying that tax penalty. Here are the types of insurance that provide such coverage:

  • Employer-sponsored health plans – These can include coverage for retirees, as well as “COBRA” coverage for former employers.

  • Government health care plans – Here is where Medicare Part A, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and other similar plans fall into place.

  • Coverage purchased through the “Marketplace” – Under the Affordable Care Act, these consist of web-based federal and state insurance markets.

  • Any individual health insurance policy you had in place before Obamacare took effect.

What to Know About Form 1095-B

There are four parts to this form. Here’s what you can expect with each:

  • Part I – This identifies the person whose name is on the policy. This would be the name of the employee for an employer-sponsored plan.

  • Part II – If your coverage happens to be employer-sponsored, this part will identify the employer.

  • Part III – This section identifies the insurance company who is providing the coverage.

  • Part IV – This is easily the most extensive part of the form. Part IV lists the people in your household who are covered by the insurance. Be aware that for each name, there is a box that will be checked if the person was covered for all 12 months of the year. If that person wasn’t covered for the entire year, there is a box for each month. Again, there will be a penalty assessed with partial coverage (in the majority of cases).

Why Form 1095-B is So Important

Submitting Form 1095-B is proof that you had coverage required by the Affordable Care Act. But what about the penalties? If you fail to file correct information returns or fail to furnish a correct employee statement, you may be subject to a penalty. Gaps in coverage of three months or less are exempt from the penalty. With that said, the IRS will not impose a penalty for filing incorrect and/or incomplete information if the filer/employer has made the effort to comply with reporting requirements. Those who are uninsured may still be able to avoid a tax penalty if they have an exemption. These are available for several reasons such as financial hardship and membership in certain groups.

 

As far as the deadline is concerned, you must file Form 1095-B by the end of February. However, if filing electronically, the deadline is the end of March. Employees must be provided their copies by the end of January.

Why Choose Us for Online E-Filing?

OnlineFileTaxes.com is an e-file provider approved by the Internal Revenue Service. With us, you can quickly and easily e-file 1099 forms. Feel at ease knowing that your online files will be electronically sent to the IRS for fast, efficient, and hassle-free filing. Whether you’re a business owner, CPA, accounting professional, or individual, you can reap the benefits of OnlineFileTaxes.com.

 

There are plenty of e-file options out there. So why choose us? For one, you can easily manage all of your 1099 tax forms with our do-it yourself online service. Why worry about mailing delays and spending countless hours filling out lengthy forms. OnlineFileTaxes.com does the following:

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How to E-File

Take your pick between three convenient options:

  1. E-File + print + mail – Let us take care of your e-filing needs with the IRS. We will also print and mail (or e-deliver) copies to recipients.

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  3. Print and mail only – Allow us to print and mail recipient copies. It could be that you have previously submitted information to the IRS but want us to provide recipient copies. In this instance, this third option makes the most sense.

 

Whether you want to e-file W-2 Forms, 1098-MA, 1095-C, or 1095-B, we can help. Get started e-filing today.