As a result of the new information reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), employers may be fielding questions from employees about the different forms they are receiving with information about their health coverage. The following questions and answers for employees may be helpful:

1. What are the health care tax forms that employees might receive? Employees may receive one or more forms providing information about the health care coverage they had or were offered during the previous year, including:

• Form 1095-B, which is furnished by health insurance companies, small self-insuring employers, and other providers of minimum essential health coverage.
• Form 1095-C, which is provided by applicable large employers (ALEs)–generally those with 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees.

Individuals that enrolled in coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace will receive Form 1095-A.

2. How do employees use the information on these forms? An employee uses the information on these forms to verify that the employee, his or her spouse, and any dependents had minimum essential health coverage for each month during the prior year and to report that coverage on his or her federal income tax return. Employees that did not have minimum essential health coverage may be liable for an individual shared responsibility payment.

3. Can employees file their tax returns if they have not received these forms? Yes. Employees should not wait for either Form 1095-B or 1095-C to file their individual income tax returns. Other forms of documentation that may assist in reporting health coverage include insurance cards, explanations of benefits, and Forms W-2 reflecting health insurance deductions. (Employees enrolled in Health Insurance Marketplace coverage will need the information on Form 1095-A to file a complete and accurate tax return.)

4. Should these forms be attached to individual income tax returns? No. Although employees may use the information on the forms to help complete their tax returns, these forms should not be attached or sent to the IRS. The issuers of the forms (e.g., employers or health insurance companies) are required to send the information to the IRS separately. Employees should keep the forms for their records along with other important tax documents.

5. Who should employees contact with questions about these forms? Employees should contact the provider of the form (e.g., the employer or health insurance company), not the IRS, with questions about Form 1095-B or 1095-C. For questions about Form 1095-A, employees should contact the Health Insurance Marketplace.   Our section on Information Reporting within the Client Resource Center HR Library provides additional information on the requirements for employers.