Struggling with tax software error for 1095A. Shows $1 owed but won't submit. Had coverage for Dec 2024 + 1099 contractor income.

Hi there! I'm very familiar with this issue. The problem isn't with your 1095A information but likely with how the software is handling the reconciliation for partial-year coverage. Since you only had coverage in December, the software needs to do a special calculation for that single month. Some tax programs struggle with this edge case. Here's what you can try: First, make sure you've entered the exact amounts from Box 33A (monthly premium) and Box 33B (monthly SLCSP) only for December on your 1095A. Don't enter anything for the other months. Then look for a "partial year coverage" checkbox or option - it's sometimes hidden in an advanced settings menu. If that doesn't work, try manually overriding the premium tax credit calculation. Most software allows you to enter a "different amount" than what's calculated. Since it's showing you owe $1, try entering $0 instead and see if it accepts that.

After struggling with a very similar issue last year, I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it saved me so much headache! I had partial year marketplace coverage plus some 1099 work like you, and my regular tax software kept giving me errors. What taxr.ai does is actually analyze your tax forms (including that tricky 1095-A) to identify errors or issues before you submit. I uploaded my forms and it immediately caught that my software was miscalculating the premium tax credit for partial-year coverage. It showed me exactly what to fix in my return. Their system is specifically trained on these edge cases that regular tax software sometimes mishandles. I was able to make the correction and submit without any more issues.

Just wanted to update everyone - I tried taxr.ai after posting my skeptical question above and wow! It actually worked perfectly for my situation. I uploaded my draft return and my 1095-A, and it immediately identified the issue: my software was trying to calculate premium tax credit for the whole year even though I only had coverage in November and December. The service showed me exactly where to manually override the calculation in my tax software (found a hidden option I never would have discovered on my own). After making the change, my return went through without any errors! They even explained why the $1 discrepancy was happening - it was a rounding error in how the monthly premium was being prorated. Super grateful I found this before giving up and paying someone to do my taxes. Will definitely use it again next year.

Had almost the identical problem last year and spent HOURS on hold trying to reach IRS support for help. After nearly giving up, I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me connected to a real IRS agent in about 15 minutes. They have this callback system that navigates the IRS phone tree for you - you can see how it works in this demo: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with explained that this is a common software issue with partial-year marketplace coverage. She walked me through exactly how to complete Form 8962 (Premium Tax Credit form) correctly for my single month of coverage. Once I had the right numbers on that form, my software finally processed everything. Honestly thought it was too good to be true but it saved me from what would have been days of frustration.

I need to publicly eat my words about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment yesterday, I decided to try it as a last resort since I was getting nowhere with my 1095-A issue. I'm completely shocked - it actually worked exactly as promised. I got a call back in about 20 minutes with a real, live IRS agent on the line. She was incredibly helpful and explained that my software was incorrectly calculating the premium tax credit for partial-year coverage. She gave me specific instructions on how to override the calculation in my software. After fighting with this for nearly two weeks and trying to call the IRS myself at least 5 times (always disconnected), I had my issue resolved in under an hour. The agent even gave me her direct extension in case I had follow-up questions. I've already filed my return and it was accepted! Total game changer.

Something similar happened to me, but I think I found a simpler solution you might want to try first. Check if your tax software allows you to "force" the return to file despite the warning. In my case (using H&R Block software), there was an option to "continue anyway" after getting the $1 discrepancy error. The software was flagging it as an issue, but it wasn't actually something that would cause the IRS to reject the return. After I forced it through, my return was accepted without any problems. Look for small text links that say something like "file anyway" or "continue with warning" on the error page.

Has anyone else noticed that these tax software issues with 1095-A forms seem to happen EVERY YEAR but never get fixed? I've used three different tax programs over the past few years and every single one has some weird glitch with marketplace insurance. Last year mine showed I owed $4,300 after entering my 1095-A, then after I deleted everything and re-entered the exact same numbers, suddenly I was owed a $780 refund! Literally nothing changed except I entered it twice. Makes me wonder how many people overpay because of software bugs.