Filing taxes for the first time not as a dependent - should I include the 1095-A form?

This is a common question with marketplace insurance! The 1095-A form tracks health insurance coverage purchased through the Health Insurance Marketplace. Since your parents were the policy holders (their names as recipients) but you were the covered individual, there's some nuance here. Even though you're filing independently now, you should NOT include the 1095-A on your tax return since you weren't the policy holder. Your parents should still use this form on their taxes, even though they're no longer claiming you as a dependent. This is because they were the ones who purchased the insurance and may have received premium tax credits. However, you still need to indicate on your tax return that you had health insurance coverage for the year to avoid penalties in states that require it. You just won't be filing the actual 1095-A form.

Had the exact same situation last year! I was so confused about this that I almost filed wrong. I found this awesome tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me figure out exactly how to handle my health insurance forms correctly. You just upload your 1095-A and answer a few questions, and it tells you exactly what to do based on your specific situation. In my case, it confirmed that I didn't need to include the 1095-A on my personal return since my mom was the policyholder, even though I was the only one covered. Saved me from potentially making a costly mistake. The site also explained why, which helped me understand the whole situation better.

Just wanted to update everyone - I took the advice and checked out taxr.ai after posting my question about my 1099-NEC form. It actually worked really well! I uploaded my form and it showed me exactly which boxes needed to go where on my Schedule C. I was also confused about the health insurance issue like the original poster, and the tool confirmed what everyone here was saying - since my parents were the policyholders on my 1095-A (even though I was covered), I didn't need to include it on my return. Just needed to indicate I had coverage. Definitely made filing a lot less stressful for a first-timer!

If you're still confused and need to talk to someone at the IRS directly to confirm, good luck getting through to them! I spent 3 hours on hold last week trying to ask about my 1095-A situation (similar to yours) and never got through. I finally used this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent confirmed exactly what others have said here - the 1095-A stays with whoever is listed as the recipient (your parents), even if they're no longer claiming you as a dependent. You just need to indicate you had coverage on your return. Saved me a ton of stress once I got a definitive answer straight from the IRS.

Ok I need to publicly eat my words here. After calling the IRS myself and sitting on hold for literally 2.5 hours yesterday (and then getting disconnected!), I broke down and tried the Claimyr service mentioned above. I was 100% convinced it wouldn't work, but I got through to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes. The agent confirmed everything about the 1095-A situation - it stays with the policy holder (parents) even when they no longer claim you as a dependent. You just indicate you had coverage on your return. Wish I hadn't wasted half my day trying to be stubborn and just used the service in the first place. Sometimes it's worth spending a little to save your sanity.

Quick tip from someone who's done this before - make sure you still check the box that says you had health coverage for the full year on your tax return! Just because you don't include the 1095-A doesn't mean you should indicate you didn't have coverage. I messed this up my first year filing independently and got a letter from my state tax authority (I live in a state with a coverage mandate). Had to file an amended return which was a huge pain.

Is anyone else confused by how overcomplicated our tax system is?? Like why do we need different forms that track the same insurance but have to be filed by different people? Why can't they just make a simple system that normal humans can understand without spending hours researching?

I completely understand your confusion - this exact situation trips up a lot of first-time independent filers! The key thing to remember is that the 1095-A form follows the policyholder (the person who purchased the insurance), not necessarily who was covered by it. Since your parents are listed as recipients on the 1095-A, they should include this form on their tax return, even though they're no longer claiming you as a dependent. This is because they were the ones who enrolled in the marketplace plan and potentially received advance premium tax credits. For your return, you'll simply need to indicate that you had qualifying health insurance coverage for the year (to satisfy any coverage requirements), but you won't attach or reference the 1095-A form itself. TurboTax should walk you through this pretty clearly in the health insurance section - just make sure to select that you had coverage but weren't the policyholder. Don't worry, this is actually a pretty common scenario and you're handling it exactly right by asking questions first!

Great question! I went through this exact same situation a couple years ago when I first filed independently. The confusion is totally understandable - it seems weird that your parents keep the 1095-A when you're the one covered, but that's exactly how it works. Since your parents were the policyholders (their names on the form), they need to keep the 1095-A for their tax return to reconcile any advance premium tax credits they may have received throughout the year. This is true even though they're no longer claiming you as a dependent. For your return, you just need to check the box indicating you had health insurance coverage for the year (which you did!), but you won't include any 1095-A information since you weren't the policyholder. One thing to double-check - make sure your parents know they still need to include this 1095-A on their return even though their tax situation has changed with you no longer being their dependent. Sometimes parents assume they don't need to deal with it anymore, but they absolutely do since they were the ones who received any tax credits.