Where can I file a 1095-A form for free without paying extra fees?

Thanks for the info! I had no idea about these free options. Do you know if these free services have any income limitations? And will they walk me through how to enter the 1095-A information correctly? I'm worried about making a mistake with the tax credit.

FreeTaxUSA has no income limitations for their free federal filing, though they do charge about $15 for state filing. They'll guide you through entering your 1095-A information step by step - very straightforward. Cash App Taxes is completely free for both federal and state with no income limits, but they don't support some complex situations (like multiple state filings or foreign income). For a standard 1095-A situation though, they work great and have a guided process for entering the Premium Tax Credit information.

Does FreeTaxUSA actually handle marketplace insurance stuff completely free? I tried another "free" site last year and they kept trying to upgrade me halfway through when they found out I had marketplace insurance.

Yes, FreeTaxUSA handles the Premium Tax Credit reconciliation with 1095-A forms completely free through their Free File program. They don't pull the bait-and-switch that some other providers do. The only potential charge would be if you need to file a state return, which is around $15. If you're worried about getting surprised with an upgrade, another option is to use the IRS Free File Fillable Forms directly, which is completely free regardless of your situation, though it has less guidance built in.

Does it actually file your taxes for you or just help with the forms? I'm confused about how it works with marketplace insurance specifically.

I'm skeptical about these AI tax tools. How accurate is it with the premium tax credit calculations? Those numbers can get complicated with the different months and subsidy amounts from the 1095-A.

It doesn't file your taxes directly - it analyzes your tax documents (including 1095-A forms) and extracts all the important information, then organizes everything you need to file yourself or import into filing software. For marketplace insurance, it pulls all the premium amounts, second lowest cost silver plan values, and advance payment details from your 1095-A, then helps calculate your premium tax credit. For the premium tax credit calculations, it's actually extremely accurate. It extracts the monthly premium amounts, SLCSP values, and advance payments from the 1095-A, then shows you exactly how those numbers affect your tax situation. I was surprised at how detailed it was, even accounting for months where my coverage changed.

Does it actually work with all the marketplace columns and stuff? My 1095-A has all these different premium amounts and I'm confused about how they all fit together.

I'm a bit skeptical. Is it really secure to upload all your tax docs to some AI service? How do you know they're not just selling your data?

It definitely handles all the marketplace columns correctly. The 1095-A has those three columns (monthly premiums, Silver plan premium benchmark, and advance payments), and taxr.ai guides you through exactly what each means and how they affect your tax credit. Regarding security, that was my concern too initially. They use bank-level encryption for all uploads and they explain in their privacy policy that they don't sell or share your data. Everything is processed through secure servers and they're IRS authorized, which requires meeting strict security standards.

Wait how does this actually work? Do they have some special line to the IRS or something? I've been trying to get through for days about my 1095-A.

Sounds too good to be true. IRS wait times are horrible this time of year. You're saying this service somehow magically gets you to the front of the line? I'll believe it when I see it.

They don't have a special line to the IRS - they use an automated system that navigates through the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. When they finally get a real person, you get a call connecting you directly to that agent. I was skeptical too! I literally laughed when someone recommended it to me. But I was desperate after trying for weeks. The way it works is simple - you tell them what IRS department you need, they call and wait through all the holds and transfers (which can take hours), and when they finally get a human, they call you and connect you. You literally skip the entire hold time.

Wait, how does this actually work? Do they just call for you or something? I've been trying to reach someone about my missing 1095-A for weeks.

This sounds like a scam. Why would I pay a third party just to call a government agency for me? The marketplace might take time but they eventually answer calls...

They don't just call for you - they use a system that navigates the phone tree and waits in the queue for you. When an actual human representative answers, they connect the call to your phone immediately. It's basically like having someone wait on hold for you, so you don't have to listen to hours of hold music or stay tied to your phone. For marketplace issues specifically, it's incredibly useful because those wait times are notoriously long. I was trying for 3 days straight to reach someone about my 1095-A before I tried this. Some people have better luck with the marketplace phone system, but during tax season the wait times can be 2+ hours, and many calls get disconnected before you reach anyone.

Does this work if you're self-employed too? I have marketplace insurance AND gig work, and everywhere wants me to upgrade to paid versions.

Yes, it does work for self-employment income! You might need to be careful which Free File partner you select though. Some have more restrictions than others. I'm self-employed too (freelance designer) and TaxAct through the IRS Free File program handled both my Schedule C for self-employment and my 1095-A marketplace insurance form for free. Just make sure your adjusted gross income is under the $73,000 threshold to qualify for the IRS Free File program.

You should definitely try to get the corrected 1095-A before filing. There's no specific deadline for corrections, but you don't want to file an inaccurate return and have to amend it later. Contact your marketplace ASAP to request the correction. While you wait, you can still prepare your return with the tax software of your choice. Just don't submit until you get the corrected form. If the correction is going to take too long and you're bumping against the April 15 filing deadline, you can always file for an extension to give yourself until October.

Does Cash App Taxes handle self-employment income too? I have a 1095-A AND I'm a freelancer so I'm always getting hit with upgrade fees.

Yes, Cash App Taxes handles self-employment income including Schedule C without charging extra. That's actually one of the best things about it - they don't tier their service based on tax forms like TurboTax and H&R Block do. I've used it for the past three years with both 1095-A marketplace insurance and freelance income, and it's remained completely free. The only limitation is they don't support multiple state filing, so if you worked in more than one state, you might need a different service.

I'm in one of the pilot states (Arizona) and tried it. Direct File does handle 1095-A forms and Premium Tax Credit, but it has pretty strict income limitations. If you have any investment income or are self-employed, you're out of luck. Good option if you have a simple return plus marketplace insurance though!

Thanks for the info! Makes sense that they'd start with simpler returns. Might not work for me since I have some stock sales this year along with my marketplace plan.

I second this! I volunteer with VITA (the program behind GetYourRefund) and we definitely handle 1095-A forms and Premium Tax Credits. As long as your income is under $73,000, we can help. The only thing is there might be a bit of a wait time since we're all volunteers and it's peak season.

This is such a comprehensive breakdown - exactly what I needed! I had no idea there were so many legitimate free options that actually handle 1095-A forms without the bait-and-switch tactics. TurboTax really does seem predatory with their pricing structure for basic forms like this. Quick question - do you know if FreeTaxUSA walks you through the Premium Tax Credit reconciliation process? I'm worried about making mistakes with all those monthly calculations from the 1095-A form, especially since I had coverage changes mid-year.

Yes, FreeTaxUSA has excellent guidance for Premium Tax Credit reconciliation! They walk you through each month of coverage step-by-step, and their interview process is really good at catching coverage changes mid-year. They'll ask you about any changes in income, household size, or coverage periods, and automatically calculate how that affects your advance payments versus what you're actually eligible for. The interface is much clearer than TurboTax's in my opinion - they break down each month individually so you can see exactly how your premium payments, benchmark plan costs, and advance credits line up. For mid-year changes, they'll guide you through allocating everything correctly so you don't overpay or underpay your reconciliation. I had a similar situation with coverage changes and FreeTaxUSA caught a calculation error that would have cost me about $400 in additional taxes. Definitely recommend it over paying TurboTax's ridiculous fees!