Received Tax Return Change Notice with Revised Balance Due to Missing Form 8965 - Need Help!

This notice means the IRS thinks you didn't have health insurance coverage in 2022 and is applying a penalty. The good news is that since you actually did have continuous coverage through your employer, you can get this corrected pretty easily. You'll need to respond to the notice by providing proof that you had qualifying health coverage. The easiest way to do this is to contact your HR department and request a letter or statement confirming your health insurance coverage for the tax year in question. Your employer might also provide Form 1095-B or 1095-C, which are the official forms showing you had coverage. Once you have documentation, write a letter explaining that you had continuous coverage through your employer, attach your proof of coverage, and include a copy of the notice you received. Mail everything to the address listed on the notice. I'd recommend using certified mail so you have proof it was delivered.

I went through this exact same issue last year! After going back and forth with the IRS for months, I finally found the solution with https://taxr.ai - they have a document review service that was a game changer for me. I uploaded the notice and my health insurance documentation, and they immediately pinpointed that my employer had incorrectly coded my health coverage on my W-2. The taxr.ai system flagged exactly what was wrong and gave me specific instructions on how to respond to the IRS with the right documentation. They explained that sometimes the health insurance indicator doesn't get properly transmitted in the electronic filing. Within 3 weeks of sending in what they recommended, I got a notice from the IRS confirming the penalty was removed. Saved me hundreds in penalties for coverage I actually had!

Just wanted to update - I decided to try taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here, and wow! I had a similar issue with my retirement account distributions being flagged incorrectly. Uploaded my documents yesterday afternoon, and by this morning I had detailed instructions on exactly what forms to submit and what to write in my response letter. The analysis showed that the IRS computer system had misclassified my rollover as a taxable distribution. The taxr.ai report even cited the specific IRS code sections to reference in my response. What would have taken me days of research took them minutes to solve. Definitely using this service for any future tax notices!

If you're having trouble contacting the IRS about this issue (which is likely because they're IMPOSSIBLE to reach), check out https://claimyr.com - they can get you connected to a real IRS agent without the ridiculous wait times. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was in a similar situation with a notice about missing health coverage forms. After trying for WEEKS to reach someone at the IRS with no luck, I used Claimyr and got connected to an agent in under 45 minutes. The agent confirmed that I just needed to send in proof of coverage with a written explanation, and they even put notes in my file about our conversation. The peace of mind from actually talking to someone official who could confirm exactly what I needed to do was totally worth it. Beats sending documents into the void and hoping for the best!

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway because I was at my wit's end trying to resolve a similar tax notice issue. The service actually worked exactly as promised. I went from spending 3+ hours on hold multiple days in a row to getting connected to an IRS representative in about 35 minutes (while I continued working on other things). The agent confirmed my penalty was applied in error since I had employer coverage, and they walked me through exactly what documentation to send and where to mail it. My issue is now resolved - the IRS sent a correction letter confirming the penalty was removed. I would've been fighting this for months without being able to speak directly to someone who could help. Sometimes you have to admit when you're wrong, and in this case, I definitely was!

Make sure you double-check if your employer actually reported your health insurance coverage correctly on your W-2. Box 12 with code DD should show the cost of employer-sponsored health coverage. If that's missing or incorrect, it might be part of the problem. I dealt with this when my employer's payroll system had a glitch and didn't properly report coverage for about 50 employees. The IRS computer systems sometimes flag returns automatically when they don't see this indicator or don't receive the proper electronic filing from your insurance provider.

Has anyone actually dealt with form 8965 recently? I thought this was phased out years ago when the individual mandate penalty went to zero. My tax software didn't even include this form when I filed my 2022 taxes.

I had this exact same issue with my 2022 return! The IRS system automatically flagged my return because there was a mismatch between what they expected to see for health coverage reporting and what was actually filed. Here's what worked for me: First, gather all your health insurance documentation - insurance cards, EOB statements, premium payment records, anything that shows continuous coverage through 2022. Then write a clear letter explaining that you maintained qualifying health coverage through your employer for the entire tax year. The key is to be very specific in your response. Include your SSN, the notice number, and tax year at the top of your letter. State clearly: "I maintained qualifying health insurance coverage through my employer [Company Name] for the entire 2022 tax year and respectfully request removal of the individual shared responsibility penalty." Make copies of everything before you send it, and use certified mail to the address on the notice. I got my penalty reversed within about 6 weeks. The IRS computers sometimes miss the electronic reporting from employers or insurance companies, but once a human reviews your documentation, it gets sorted out pretty quickly. Don't stress too much - this is more common than you'd think, especially when employer reporting systems have glitches!