Confused about 1095-A vs 1095-B for Medical Deductions - which form do I need?

The 1095 forms can definitely be confusing, but let me clarify the difference for you! A 1095-A is issued if you had health insurance through the Marketplace (Healthcare.gov or your state exchange). This form is important if you received advance premium tax credits. A 1095-B is typically issued by health insurance companies or employers offering self-insured coverage, including COBRA coverage. This form essentially proves you had qualifying health coverage to satisfy the health insurance requirement. For medical deductions, what matters is how much you paid out of pocket. COBRA premiums that you paid (not your former employer) can be included in your medical expense deduction. However, remember that medical expenses are only deductible if you itemize deductions on Schedule A, and only the portion that exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. Since you're self-employed, there's also a special deduction for health insurance premiums on Schedule 1 that reduces your adjusted gross income. This is often more valuable than the itemized medical deduction since it's not subject to the 7.5% threshold. Hope this helps point you in the right direction!

After dealing with similar confusion last year, I found this amazing tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that seriously made this so much easier to figure out. I uploaded my 1095-B and COBRA statements, and it automatically identified which deductions I qualified for. I was in the exact same boat - contractor with COBRA coverage from my old job, completely confused about which forms went where. The tool analyzed everything and showed me that I qualified for the self-employed health insurance deduction, which saved me way more than trying to itemize medical expenses on Schedule A. It also walked me through exactly where to enter everything in my tax software. Saved me hours of frustration and probably a bunch of money I would have missed otherwise.

I was really skeptical about taxr.ai at first, but after struggling with this exact 1095-A vs 1095-B issue, I finally gave it a try. I'm actually surprised how well it worked for my complicated situation. I uploaded my COBRA statements and medical receipts, and it immediately clarified that I needed to use the self-employed health insurance deduction instead of itemizing. Saved me about $3,200 in taxes because I was about to deduct everything wrong. It even flagged that one of my treatments qualified as a preventative service that had additional tax benefits. The explanations it provides actually taught me how these deductions work instead of just giving me numbers. Now I finally understand why my CPA was doing things a certain way all these years!

If you're struggling to get answers about your 1095 forms and medical deductions, I was in the same boat last year. I spent HOURS on hold with the IRS trying to get clarification about my COBRA situation. I finally found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual IRS representative in about 15 minutes instead of the 3+ hours I was waiting before. They have this demonstration video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with explained exactly how to handle my COBRA premiums and confirmed I could take the self-employed health insurance deduction even though my coverage came from my former employer. Saved me so much confusion and probably an audit!

OK I need to apologize for my skepticism about Claimyr. After posting that comment, I was so frustrated about my refund situation that I decided to try it anyway. I got connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes. The agent was able to tell me exactly what was holding up my refund (an issue with how my health insurance premium tax credit was calculated) and helped me understand what documentation I needed to submit to resolve it. While I had them on the phone, I also asked about the 1095-B vs 1095-A situation with COBRA coverage. They confirmed that COBRA is reported on 1095-B, and explained that I needed to use the self-employed health insurance deduction on Line 17 of Schedule 1 rather than trying to itemize these expenses. Seriously would have taken me months to figure this out on my own. Sometimes you just need to talk to a real person who knows the tax code.

As someone who's been self-employed for 7 years, here's what I learned about the 1095 forms and medical deductions: 1095-A: This is for Marketplace insurance only. If you don't have this, you didn't get insurance through healthcare.gov or state exchanges. 1095-B: This shows you had minimum essential coverage through an employer, COBRA, or private insurance. For COBRA as a self-employed person: - Don't use it for itemized deductions unless your other medical expenses are massive - Use the self-employed health insurance deduction on Schedule 1 - This deduction has no percentage threshold (unlike itemized medical expenses) - The deduction can't exceed your self-employment profit In TurboTax, go to Business > Expenses > Insurance > Health Insurance. That's where you enter COBRA premiums paid by you.

I think everyones missing a key point here. The 1095-B isnt required to be filed with your tax return at all! It's just an informational form that proves you had health coverage. The real question is where to deduct the COBRA premiums as a self-employed person. That goes on Schedule 1 line 17 as self-employed health insurance. Has nothing to do with the 1095 forms themselves. TurboTax just confuses people by asking for 1095 info as if you need it to get the deduction. You dont. Just keep the 1095-B in your records in case of audit.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm also self-employed with COBRA coverage and was making this way more complicated than it needed to be. Just to summarize what I'm understanding from everyone's advice: - My COBRA coverage gets reported on 1095-B (which I don't even need to file) - As self-employed, I should use the self-employed health insurance deduction on Schedule 1, Line 17 - This is much better than trying to itemize medical expenses since there's no 7.5% threshold - The deduction is limited to my self-employment profit One thing I'm still unclear on - do I need to wait for my 1095-B to arrive before I can file, or can I go ahead and file my return with just my COBRA payment records? My insurance company is always slow sending these forms out.

I went through this exact same confusion last year! As a fellow self-employed person with COBRA, I can confirm what everyone else is saying - you want the self-employed health insurance deduction, not the itemized medical expenses route. The key thing that helped me understand this: the 1095-B from your COBRA coverage is just proof you had insurance. You don't submit it with your taxes. What matters for the deduction is how much YOU paid in premiums (not what your former employer contributed). In TurboTax, I found the self-employed health insurance section under "Business Income and Expenses" then "Business Expenses." It asks for the total amount you paid for health insurance premiums during the year. Just enter your total COBRA payments and you're done. One heads up - make sure you calculate this correctly if you had any employment income during the year too. The deduction can get limited if you were eligible for employer coverage during part of the year, but since you mentioned you've been contracting all year, you should be fine to deduct the full amount (up to your self-employment profit). Good luck with your return!