Employer charging me for health insurance I never chose - got 1095-C showing deductions I didn't authorize

This is definitely something you need to address. Form 1095-C is used by employers with 50+ full-time employees to report information about health insurance coverage they offered. Here's what you should do: - Speak with your HR department immediately and explain the situation. Bring documentation showing you're covered under your spouse's plan. - Ask for copies of any enrollment forms with your signature (they likely won't have any if you never enrolled) - Request a correction to your W-2 if premiums were deducted pre-tax, as this would affect your taxable income - Ask for a refund of all premiums deducted without your authorization Legally, employers can have automatic enrollment in some cases, but they must clearly communicate this and provide an opportunity to opt out. If you explicitly declined coverage during onboarding and have documentation, they cannot force you to participate. Regarding tax implications: having coverage from two sources isn't necessarily a problem for taxes, but you're essentially paying twice for coverage you only need once. You'll want this corrected for both financial and tax accuracy reasons.

I was in a similar situation and got so frustrated trying to figure it all out. I couldn't tell if I was going to be penalized by the IRS or if my taxes would be messed up. After weeks of trying to piece together all the information myself, I finally tried this tool called taxr.ai and it was so much better than endlessly searching online. It scanned my tax documents, explained the whole healthcare reporting situation, and showed me exactly what I needed to do to fix the problem with both the IRS and my employer. Saved me hours of research and definitely prevented me from making mistakes on my return! https://taxr.ai

After I had almost the exact same issue last year, I wasted SO much time trying to get someone at the IRS to help explain how this would impact my taxes. Couldn't get through on their phone lines for weeks. Finally found this app called claimyr.com that got me connected to an actual IRS agent in like 20 minutes. The agent explained exactly how to handle the reporting on my tax return and what documentation I needed from my employer. Honestly don't think I would have ever gotten it resolved without actually talking to someone. Talking to the IRS directly was the only way I got this mess straightened out.

Your employer can't legally force you to take their health insurance if you have coverage elsewhere. But many companies do auto-enrollment to meet compliance requirements, expecting employees to opt-out. My company does this. Check your employee handbook - there might be fine print about auto-enrollment policies. Still crappy of them not to clearly tell you though.

The 1095-C form doesnt necessarily mean you had their insurance. Part of the form (line 14 and 16) just shows what coverage was OFFERED to you. Can you check box 14 and see what code is there? Different codes mean different things. If there's nothing in Part III of the form, that usually means you weren't actually enrolled.

the real question is whether the deductions were pre-tax or post-tax. if pre-tax then your W-2 box 1 wages are already reduced by the premium amount, which means you're getting a tax benefit even tho you didn't want the coverage. if post-tax then yeah you basically got scammed and need to get your money back.

This happened to me! When I started my job they had a form that said "sign here to decline coverage" but apparently if you don't sign it they automatically enroll you. Super shady practice but technically legal in many states. Took me 3 months to get it all reversed and get my money back. Good luck!

Are you sure you didn't accidently enroll? At my company if you don't submit a waiver with proof of other coverage by the deadline, they auto-enroll you in the basic plan. Its in the fine print of the benefits packet but easy to miss.

i work in benefits administration. most companies have a rule that if you don't explicitly waive coverage AND provide proof of other coverage, they auto-enroll you. it's to protect the employee and the company. but they should have made this crystal clear during orientation.

Dude the SAME THING happened to me last year! I had to file a complaint with the Department of Labor to finally get my money back. These companies are such scammers sometimes. Document everything! 💯

Try checking if you can view your benefits elections in your HR system (like Workday or whatever your company uses). There should be a record of when elections were made and by who. If your account shows that HR made the election rather than you, that's pretty solid evidence in your favor.

I also got double-covered last year and it was a nightmare figuring out the tax implications. Used taxr.ai to finally make sense of it all. Their system scanned my documents and actually showed me what forms I needed to submit to fix the issue. Literally saved me so much time compared to the hours I spent on google trying to figure it out myself. https://taxr.ai

The key thing here is whether your state has laws about this. In California for example they need clear written consent for payroll deductions. Check your state labor laws!

I was getting nowhere with HR about a similar issue until I finally got through to someone at the IRS who knew exactly what needed to be done. Used claimyr.com to finally get connected to an agent after weeks of busy signals. The agent explained exactly what forms need to be corrected and gave me specific language to use with my employer. I wouldve been completely lost without that guidance.

IANAL but this could actually be wage theft depending on your state. If they didn't get proper authorization for the deductions, you might have a case beyond just getting a refund.

I had a similar issue and got nowhere with my employer for weeks. Couldn't figure out the tax implications either since I was double-covered. Finally used taxr.ai which analyzed my forms and showed me exactly what went wrong and how to fix it. Also gave me specific language to use with my HR dept which finally got their attention. My issue got resolved in like a week after that!

check ur pay stubs carefully. sometimes they list it as "pre-tax benefits" or something vague like that so u might not have noticed the deduction. my company does this and its super sneaky

Your employer royally messed up here. Don't let them off the hook. They took your money without consent and that's not ok. Make them refund every cent plus any tax implications. This happened to my sister and she ended up getting almost $2000 back.

This is a frustrating situation that unfortunately happens more often than it should. Here's what I'd recommend based on similar cases I've seen: **Immediate steps:** 1. Document everything - save all your pay stubs, the 1095-C form, and any communication with HR 2. Request a meeting with HR in writing and ask for copies of ANY enrollment forms with your signature 3. If they can't produce signed enrollment documents, you have a strong case for getting your money back **Tax implications:** Since the 1095-C shows you had coverage and premiums were deducted pre-tax, this affects your taxable income. You'll need corrected forms (W-2 and 1095-C) if they reverse the enrollment, which could impact your tax return. **Legal considerations:** Most states require explicit written consent for payroll deductions beyond taxes and court-ordered garnishments. Auto-enrollment policies must be clearly communicated with opt-out procedures. If you can prove you never consented and they didn't follow proper procedures, this could be considered unauthorized wage deduction. Don't let them brush this off - $1,700 is significant money and you're entitled to every penny back if you never authorized the deductions.