Do I really need my 1095-B form when filing my taxes for 2025?

You're in luck! The 1095-B form is primarily for informational purposes and you don't actually need to submit it with your tax return. The form confirms you had qualifying health coverage (minimum essential coverage) to satisfy the health insurance requirement. While the individual mandate penalty was reduced to $0 at the federal level starting in 2019, having this information is still important for state-level requirements in some states that still have health insurance mandates with penalties. For your tax preparation, simply knowing the months you were covered is typically sufficient. Your tax preparer mainly needs to know if you had qualifying health coverage for the full year or which specific months you were covered if it wasn't the entire year.

After struggling with similar issues last year trying to track down all my health insurance paperwork, I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) to be incredibly helpful. I was missing my 1095-B form too and wasn't sure what to do, but their system analyzed my situation and confirmed I didn't need to wait for the physical form before filing. They have this document analyzer tool that looks at what forms you already have and tells you what's actually required vs what's just informational. Saved me from delaying my filing by weeks while waiting for my insurance company to get their act together! It also helped identify some deductions I would have missed on my own.

I was super skeptical about using online tax help tools after getting terrible advice from TurboTax forums last year, but I decided to try taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here. Have to admit I was wrong about being skeptical! I was missing both my 1095-B and a 1099-INT from a closed bank account. Their system immediately identified that while the 1099-INT was necessary to report (even if I had to estimate it), the 1095-B was just informational and not required for my federal return. They even explained exactly what information I needed to provide my tax preparer about my health coverage without the physical form. Saved me from postponing my filing for weeks while chasing down that 1095-B form! Just wanted to update since my initial reaction was unnecessarily harsh.

If you're still having trouble getting your 1095-B or have other questions about your health insurance documentation, you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation last year where my insurance company kept giving me the runaround about my 1095-B. After weeks of frustration, I used Claimyr to get through to an actual human at my insurance company. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They basically help you skip the ridiculous hold times and automated systems. Within 20 minutes, I was talking to someone who could actually help, and they emailed me my 1095-B directly instead of sending me back to their broken website.

Ok I need to publicly eat my words here. After posting that skeptical comment yesterday, I was still stuck trying to get my 1095-B form and out of pure frustration decided to try Claimyr. I was 100% prepared to come back here and expose it as a scam. Instead, I'm kinda shocked. Not only did I get connected to a real person at my insurance company in about 15 minutes (vs the 2+ hours I spent on hold last week), but the agent I spoke with was actually helpful. She bypassed their website completely and sent my 1095-B directly to my email while I was on the phone. For what it's worth, my tax person confirmed what others have said here - the 1095-B is mostly informational and I didn't actually need the physical form to file. But at least now I have it for my records. Never been happier to be wrong about something!

Quick tip from someone who prepares taxes: while you don't need to submit the 1095-B with your return, it's still a good idea to keep it with your tax records. The IRS recommends keeping tax documents for at least 3 years after filing. Even though the federal penalty is $0, having proof of coverage can be important if you're ever questioned about your healthcare status for that tax year.

Has anyone actually tried requesting a 1095-B directly from the insurance provider by phone? My Cigna website is also broken and I'm wondering if calling would be faster than waiting for the website to get fixed.

I went through this exact same situation with Blue Cross last year! Their website was down for maintenance right when I needed my 1095-B, and it was so frustrating. Here's what I learned: you absolutely do NOT need the physical 1095-B form to file your taxes. As others have mentioned, it's purely informational. Your tax preparer just needs to know that you had qualifying health coverage for 2024, which months you were covered, and basic details like your insurance carrier. Since you mentioned you know all the coverage details already (full year coverage through Blue Cross via your employer), you're completely set for your appointment in three days. Just bring that information with you - no need to stress about rescheduling! Pro tip: Once you do eventually get access to download your 1095-B (after their website is fixed), make sure to save a copy for your records. While not required for filing, it's good to keep with your tax documents just in case you ever need proof of coverage down the line.