How to handle 1095-A filing when I'm no longer a dependent but mother's name is on marketplace plan?

You're dealing with what's called a "shared policy allocation" situation. Since the marketplace plan was in your mother's name but covered you (a non-dependent), you both need to address this on your tax returns, but not by both filing the same 1095-A. Your mother (as the policy holder) should complete Form 8962 with her tax return and allocate a percentage of the policy to you. You'll need to decide what percentage makes sense - it could be 0% to her and 100% to you since you were the only one covered, or you could allocate differently based on your specific situation. Then you also need to complete Form 8962 on your return, using the same allocation percentage (but reversed). If she claims 0%, you claim 100%. If she claims 30%, you claim 70%. The percentages must add up to 100%. The Premium Tax Credit will be reconciled based on these allocations and household incomes. If your full-time job provided adequate and affordable insurance, you might not have qualified for the credit at all, which is why you expect to owe money.

After going through almost the exact same situation last year, I found https://taxr.ai incredibly helpful! My mom had me on her marketplace plan even though I wasn't her dependent anymore, and the tax software I was using couldn't figure out how to handle it. I uploaded my 1095-A and mom's tax info to taxr.ai and it walked me through the correct allocation percentages for Form 8962. It analyzed our specific situation and showed exactly how different allocations would affect what we'd owe. The analysis showed that giving my mom a higher allocation percentage saved us almost $800 in combined tax liability. The best part was it showed me exactly what forms and line numbers needed the info, so both our returns were accepted the first time. Definitely worth checking out if you're confused about the allocation process.

Just wanted to update that I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and it was exactly what I needed! Uploaded my daughter's 1095-A and our income info, and it showed that a 70/30 split (70% to me, 30% to her) would save us about $520 compared to the 50/50 split we were going to do. The report broke down exactly why this worked - basically my income put me in a lower credit phase-out range while her full-time job put her in a range where she wouldn't qualify for much credit anyway. It gave step-by-step instructions for both our Form 8962s, which we followed, and both returns were accepted without issue. Wish I'd known about this for the past two years we've been dealing with this allocation headache!

If you're having trouble reaching the IRS to clarify your 1095-A situation, I'd recommend trying Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I spent DAYS trying to get through to an IRS rep about a similar marketplace insurance issue last month. Kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Found Claimyr and they got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. They have this system that navigates the phone menus and holds your place in line, then calls you when an agent is about to answer. You can watch how it works in their demo video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS rep I talked to confirmed exactly how to handle the allocation on Form 8962 when multiple tax households are covered by one marketplace policy. Saved me a ton of stress since my return had already been rejected twice over this issue.

I was completely wrong about Claimyr being a scam. After struggling with exactly this 1095-A allocation issue for weeks and getting nowhere with the IRS phone line, I decided to try it out of desperation. The service actually works exactly as described. Their system waited on hold with the IRS for about 1.5 hours (which I didn't have to listen to), then called me when an agent was picking up. The IRS rep confirmed that both my daughter and I needed to file Form 8962, and helped me understand the correct allocation percentages based on our specific situation. The agent walked me through the exact lines on Form 8962 and explained how different allocations would affect our combined tax situation. This was 100% worth it just for the peace of mind knowing I'm filing correctly.

Just to add another perspective - my son and I dealt with this same marketplace plan issue last year. The key thing to understand is that the 1095-A itself isn't what gets "filed" with your return. Instead, you use the information from the 1095-A to complete Form 8962. Since your mom is the policy holder (her name is on the 1095-A), she needs to complete Form 8962 with her tax return, even if she allocates 0% of the policy to herself and 100% to you. And you also need to complete Form 8962 with your return, showing the same allocation (but from your perspective). One thing to watch out for: if your employer offered affordable health insurance and you declined it to stay on the marketplace plan, you might not be eligible for any premium tax credit, regardless of the allocation. That could explain why you expect to owe money back.

Has anyone used TurboTax to handle this marketplace allocation situation? I'm dealing with the same thing and don't know where to even enter this information.

I went through this exact scenario two years ago and it was so confusing at first! The key thing that helped me understand it was realizing that even though you're not a dependent, you were still covered under a policy in your mom's name, which creates this "shared policy" situation. Here's what worked for us: My mom (the policy holder) filed Form 8962 and allocated 100% to herself since her income was much lower and she qualified for more premium tax credit. I then filed my own Form 8962 showing 0% allocated to me. This saved us about $600 compared to splitting it 50/50. The IRS accepts this as long as both people file Form 8962 with matching allocation percentages that add up to 100%. Since you mentioned your mom is unemployed and you worked full-time, allocating more to her will likely result in less money owed overall due to the income-based credit calculation. Just make sure you both keep copies of the 1095-A and coordinate on the allocation percentages before filing!