Tax Season 2024: 12 Healthcare Tax Forms You Should Know About Before Filing

The 2024 tax season started on Monday, January 29. You’ve probably received most of your tax forms by now, and you’ve probably run across forms that you have no idea what to do with. You may even see some healthcare forms from various providers or need to submit health forms to the IRS to claim certain credits and deductions.

To help make your tax preparation process a bit easier, we’ve identified the common types of healthcare tax forms you should know about before filing.

What tax forms do I need for 2023?

Typically, the deadline for filing your tax return is April 15. However, if you find yourself needing more breathing room, the IRS allows you to file an extension. This means you can delay the filing of your tax return until October 15.

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But here's the catch: You will still need to pay any taxes owed by April 15. If not, you may have to pay interest and penalties.  

As you prepare to file your tax returns, here are some of the tax forms that you may receive or forms you may need to complete, depending on your situation.

Source:  IRS

1. Form 1095-A: Health Insurance Marketplace Statement

If you enrolled in a health insurance plan from an Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace, you will receive Form 1095-A in the mail by mid-February. This form provides details about the following: 

• Monthly premiums 

• Insurance policy 

• Coverage dates 

• Advanced payments of the premium tax credit (APTC)

You will need Form 1095-A to claim the premium tax credit. This is a refundable tax credit that helps you save money on health insurance. 

2. Form 1095-B: Health Coverage

Some employers that offer health coverage, as well as healthcare issuers such as Medicaid and Medicare, will send Form 1095-B to report details about your health insurance coverage for the plan year.  

Form 1095-B is proof that you had minimal essential health insurance coverage during the tax year. You do not need to include this form with your federal tax return, but you should keep it on hand in case the IRS audits your return and wants evidence to support your deductions or credits. 

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3. Form 1095-C: Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage

Large employers, those with 50 or more full-time employees, send healthcare Form 1095-C to each employee who was considered a full-time employee for any month of the calendar year. 

Under the Affordable Care Act, large employers are required to report information about the health insurance coverage they offer to their employees. If you had multiple full-time jobs during the year, you should receive multiple 1095-C forms if your employers were considered Applicable Large Employers (ALEs). 

Form 1095-C contains details about the type of health insurance coverage offered to the employee, including: 

• Information about the employer who sent you the form 

• Months you were offered coverage during the prior year 

• Cheapest monthly premium that was available to you 

If you worked full-time for an ALE, you will receive Form 1095-C whether you enrolled in the health insurance plan or not. Use this form to see if you meet the ACA’s requirements for coverage. While there is no penalty for federal taxes, this may not be the case with some states, such as California. 

4. Form 8962: Premium Tax Credit

If you signed up for a health insurance plan through the ACA marketplace, you will need to use Form 8962 to calculate and claim the premium tax credit. With this form, you can reconcile the amount of the premium tax credit you received in advance with the actual premium tax credit you are eligible for based on your final annual income. 

For example, let’s say you reported an estimated income of $30,000 but your actual income for the year was $35,000. Your advanced premium tax credit of $2,400, which was based on the estimated income that you reported, was more than you were supposed to receive. 

Use the information on Form 1095-A to fill out Form 8962 so that you can reconcile the difference. Since your advanced premium tax credit was more than what you were supposed to receive, your total tax liability for the year will increase. But if your actual income was lower than your estimated income, you may qualify for a higher premium tax credit. 

5. Form 8889: Health Savings Accounts

If you have a health savings account (HSA), you can use the pretax dollars in your account to pay for qualified medical expenses such as hearing aids and vision care tax-free. But you must report contributions to and distributions from your account every year on Form 8889. 

Part 1 of Form 8889 focuses on your contributions to the account. If you did not contribute money to your HSA through payroll deductions at work, you may be eligible for a tax deduction. Some of the information you’ll need to report on Form 8889 includes: 

• Amount of HSA contributions you made during the year 

• Employer contributions made to your HSA 

• Additional contributions made to the account if you were 55 or older  

• HSA excess contributions (you may be subject to a 6% excise tax on additional contributions)  

Part II focuses on distributions you made from the account; you can use Form 1099-SA to complete this section. If you used your HSA to pay for nonqualified expenses, you will be subject to a 20% tax penalty and income taxes on the amount. However, if you are 65 or older, you will not have to pay the 20% tax penalty.  

You must be enrolled in a qualified self-only or family high-deductible health plan (HDHP) to contribute to an HSA during the year. For Part III of Form 8889, you need to calculate the income and additional tax you are required to pay if you failed to maintain HDHP coverage during the year.  

6. Form 5498-SA: HSA, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA Information

If you have an HSA, Archer medical savings account (MSA), or Medicare Advantage MSA, your account custodian should send you Form 5498-SA by May 31. This form will summarize the contributions you made to these accounts for the prior tax year. Keep in mind that you have until the tax filing deadline, which is April 15, to make contributions to an HSA, MSA or Medicare Advantage MSA for the prior year.  

If you contributed money to these accounts with pretax dollars, you can get a deduction when you file your tax return. You do not need to itemize your deductions to qualify for the tax deduction. You will use Form 5498-SA to help fill out Form 8889.

7. Form 8853: Archer MSAs and Long-Term Care Insurance Contracts

If you are self-employed, the employee of a small employer, or the spouse of either of the two and have an HDHP, you may have access to an Archer medical savings account. Use Form 8853 to report the following: 

• Archer MSA contributions and deductions (Section A, Part I) 

• Archer MSA distributions (Section A, Part II) 

• Medicare Advantage MSA distributions (Section B) 

• Long-term care insurance contracts (Section C) 

An Archer MSA is a tax-advantaged savings account that works in combination with an HDHP to help you save for medical expenses. Congress created medical savings accounts in 1996 and discontinued them after December 31, 2007. But people who still have accounts need to report their activity on Form 8853.   

Section B is for distributions for Medicare Advantage MSAs. A Medicare Advantage plan is private insurance that is an alternative to original Medicare, which includes Part A and Part B.  

Section C is for reporting details for long-term care insurance contracts. This is insurance to cover the costs of medical and support services for those with chronic illnesses or disabilities.  While the distributions for this type of insurance are generally tax-free, there are exceptions.  Use Section C for reporting what’s taxable.

8. Schedule A (Form 1040): Itemized Deductions

If you want to claim qualified medical expenses on your tax return, you’ll typically have to itemize deductions. You can deduct unreimbursed medical, vision, and dental expenses on Schedule A. You can also use this form to deduct expenses for your spouse and dependents.  

If you itemize deductions, you are not eligible to take the standard deduction. It makes sense to itemize deductions when your total qualified expenses exceed the standard deduction. However, if you choose to itemize, you can only deduct qualified medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). 

Suppose your AGI is $40,000 for the year, and you spent $4,500 on qualified medical expenses. On Schedule A, you will multiply your AGI by 7.5%, which is $3,000. That means you can only deduct medical expenses that exceed $3,000. Since your medical expenses add up to $4,500, you can deduct $1,500 worth of medical expenses on your tax return if you itemize deductions. 

9. Form 7206: Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction

If you are self-employed and paid for health insurance premiums out of pocket, you may be eligible to claim the self-employed health insurance deduction. You can complete Form 7206 to determine how much of the self-employed health insurance deduction you are able to claim and report on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), Line 17. Use Form 1095-A to help fill out Form 7206 if you received health insurance through the ACA marketplace.

This deduction allows you to claim up to 100% of the amount you paid for medical, dental, and qualified long-term care insurance. You can also take the deduction for premiums you paid for your spouse, dependents, and eligible adult children. Keep in mind the requirements you need to meet to claim this deduction, including earning a net profit in your business.   

10. Form 2441: Child and Dependent Care Expenses

If you paid someone to care for a child under 13, your spouse, or other qualifying dependent that can’t take care of themselves while you work or look for work, you may qualify for the child and dependent care credit. You can fill out Form 2441 to claim the credit for eligible expenses, such as summer camps, caretakers, and daycare from a licensed provider.   

The child and dependent care credit is a nonrefundable credit worth up to 35% of qualified expenses. Your tax credit is limited by your AGI.  

11. Schedule 8812 (Form 1040): Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents

You may be eligible for the child tax credit if you had a qualifying child under age 17 at the end of the year. If your child was born on December 31, you can still claim a child for that year. You can use Schedule 8812 to calculate and claim the amount of the child tax credit that you will report on your Form 1040.  

The child tax credit is a nonrefundable credit up to $2,000 per qualifying child. A nonrefundable credit can reduce your tax liability to zero, but it won’t provide you with a refund. If you cannot get the full value of the child tax credit because it is more than your total tax liability, you can use the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) to receive up to $1,600 of the $2,000 child tax credit for 2023 if you meet the qualifications.  

12. Earned Income Tax Credit

If your income is under a certain threshold or you meet the permanent and total disability requirement, you may qualify for the earned income tax credit (EITC). This is a refundable credit that helps low- and moderate-income taxpayers save money during tax time. People with lower incomes and qualifying children typically receive the largest credit. The value of the credit is based on income, marital status and the number of dependent children.

Once you determine if you qualify for the earned income credit, you can complete Schedule EIC to report details about your qualifying children to the IRS. If you are between the ages of 25 and 65, you can qualify for the earned income credit without children if your income falls under the threshold. 

Can I download and print tax forms?

Yes. Go to IRS.gov and enter the name of the tax form in the search box. This is at the upper-right side of the home page.

If you want to download copies of Form 1095-A, Form 1095-B, or Form 1095-C, you can log into the provider's website. 

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Written by:

Tom Taulli, EA

Tom Taulli, EA, operates his own tax preparation and planning firm, Pathway Tax, which he founded in 2000. He is a licensed enrolled agent and can represent taxpayers before the IRS. He can also prepare and advise on tax matters for all 50 states.

Edited by:

Charlene Rhinehart, CPA

Charlene Rhinehart, CPA, is a personal finance editor at GoodRx. She has been a certified public accountant for over a decade.

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