Military Insurance and Form 1095 - Will This Affect My Tax Filing?
Probably a dumb question but I don't want my return to be rejected - I keep seeing people getting denied because they need a form 1095 for health insurance marketplace coverage. My question is if I'm military and have Tricare insurance through them, is this going to affect submitting my taxes? I saw the question come up while filling out on TurboTax but I don't want to submit the wrong answer and delay my refund. My small business had a rough year and I really need this refund to come through without delays. Has anyone else with military insurance dealt with this? Does Tricare count as qualifying coverage?
14 comments
Natasha Petrova
You're asking about Form 1095 and military health coverage (Tricare). Here's what you need to know: • Tricare qualifies as minimum essential coverage under the ACA • Military members typically receive Form 1095-B or 1095-C documenting this coverage • For 2023 tax returns (filed in 2024), you don't need to attach the 1095 form to your return • However, you should keep it for your records as proof of coverage • When TurboTax asks about health insurance, select that you had full-year coverage through a government program • This will not delay your refund or trigger a rejection The IRS no longer requires reporting health insurance on Form 1040 since the individual mandate penalty was reduced to $0.
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Javier Morales
Thanks for breaking this down so clearly. I was confused about this last year too when I had VA coverage. I remember getting really worried when I couldn't find my 1095 form, but my return went through fine when I just indicated I had government coverage.
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Emma Davis
This is exactly right. I filed on February 12th with Tricare coverage and had no issues. My refund was deposited on February 26th without any delays or questions about health insurance documentation. Such a relief compared to 2018 when I had marketplace coverage and had all kinds of delays!
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GalaxyGlider
Do you still have access to your military documentation that shows you're covered by Tricare? And have you received a Form 1095-B from DEERS (Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System) or your military branch? Sometimes they mail these out later than other tax forms.
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Malik Robinson
I'm active duty and NEVER received my 1095-B this year! I called DEERS and they said they're behind on sending them out. I went ahead and filed anyway since the form isn't required to be attached to returns. My refund processed without any issues or delays. The whole health insurance reporting thing feels like unnecessary stress these days.
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Isabella Silva
Wait, is this different for reservists versus active duty? I'm in the reserves and wondering if my coverage is handled differently than full-time military. My civilian job also offers insurance so I'm covered under both. Is that going to complicate things compared to someone with just Tricare?
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Ravi Choudhury
As someone who's worked with military tax situations for years, I can confidently say that Tricare coverage is qualifying coverage and you don't need to worry about marketplace insurance forms. However, if you're having trouble getting clear answers from the IRS about your specific situation, you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). In my experience, they can typically get you connected to an actual IRS agent in under 15 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. Many of my military clients have used it when they needed clarification on how their service-related benefits affect their taxes. The peace of mind from speaking directly with an agent is usually worth it, especially when you're concerned about potential delays.
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Freya Andersen
I've heard about services that help you reach the IRS faster, but I'm always hesitant. Here's what I usually do instead: 1. Call early in the morning right when they open 2. Use the Spanish line (even if you don't speak Spanish - they all speak English too) 3. Call on a Tuesday or Wednesday when it's less busy 4. Have all my documents ready before calling Does Claimyr actually work better than these methods? Has anyone compared the wait times?
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Omar Farouk
Wait, so this service just helps you get through to the IRS faster? Couldn't you just keep calling the IRS yourself until you get through? Or is there something I'm missing about how they help with tax issues? Does the IRS actually give different information to people who use this service versus those who call directly?
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CosmicCadet
Military here. Filed last week with Tricare. No issues at all. TurboTax asked about insurance. I selected government plan. Return accepted within 24 hours. Don't overthink it. You're good.
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Chloe Harris
I'm not convinced this is as straightforward as others are making it seem. According to IRS Publication 974 and the Department of Defense guidelines, while Tricare does qualify as minimum essential coverage, there are specific situations where military members might still need to report additional information. For example, if you had partial-year coverage due to entering or leaving service, or if you had dependents with different coverage. The IRS instructions still require you to accurately report your coverage status even though the penalty is $0. I would recommend double-checking your specific situation rather than assuming a blanket answer applies.
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Diego Mendoza
Thank you for bringing up these nuances! I've been dealing with military tax situations for years and the transitional coverage periods always cause confusion. Entering/exiting service creates weird coverage gaps that most tax software doesn't handle well. Had to call the IRS three times last year to sort out my situation when I transitioned to reserve status.
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Anastasia Popova
Ppl are overthinking this tbh. I'm mil w/ Tricare and have filed taxes for 8+ yrs with zero probs. The marketplace form (1095-A) is only for ppl who got insurance thru healthcare.gov. Military gets 1095-B from DoD but you don't even need it to file. TurboTax is just asking to confirm you had coverage. Check the box and move on! Ur not gonna get denied for this.
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Sean Flanagan
My husband is military and I handle our taxes every year. Last tax season, I was worried about the exact same thing! I called DEERS to get our 1095-B forms sent to us, but they were backlogged. We went ahead and filed anyway, just indicating we had full-year Tricare coverage. Our refund came through without any issues about three weeks later. The health insurance question is really just a formality now - they're not penalizing people anymore for not having coverage like they did a few years ago.
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