Use the information on this page to help consumers understand health insurance tax information and responsibilities.
Assister Role
- Assisters should not provide advice to consumers on tax issues in their assister role.
- Assisters may share information and resources with consumers so they are aware of their responsibilities.
- We strongly recommend you refer consumers to tax professionals. Free tax assistance is available for low income consumers.
Federal Tax Information Authorization
Consumers who wish to lower the cost of their health coverage, must provide MNsure a Federal Tax Information (FTI) authorization to retrieve IRS data for eligibility determinations. Consumer tax information is used to verify and renew eligibility for advanced premium tax credit (APTC) and cost-sharing reductions (CSRs). These forms require special handling and have specific instructions for submission.
At the start of a new year, MNsure will mail FTI notices to tax filers of households that have not provided MNsure with the necessary authorization. If an assister has an assister portal association with a consumer who receives this notice, they will receive a secure email notifying that the consumer must take action.
Key Elements to Remember
- An assister cannot attest to federal tax information or federal tax reconciliation on behalf of a tax filer. Tax filers can provide their attestation by:
- calling the MNsure Contact Center.
- having their MNsure certified assister initiate a call with them to MNsure so they can report their attestation.
- completing an FTI authorization form.
- The FTI authorization form must be completed by the tax filer.
- Tax filers who do not complete this authorization will not receive advanced premium tax credit (APTC) or a cost-sharing reduction (CSR).
- Tax filers should verify their information before completing the form. If the form is not completed with the correct information, MNsure will be unable to process it.
- Tax filers can choose authorization for one to five years for verifying income data.
- Submitting online:
- Tax filers who receive their notice in the mail will also be provided with an option to complete the form online.
- Tax filers should use MNsure's online tool to submit their authorization. If the tax filer is unable to use the online tool, they can fill out the paper form that comes with the notice and mail it back with the enclosed envelope.
- Submitting by mail:
- MNsure accepts FTI authorization forms by mail.
- The form must be hand signed by the tax filer.
- Consumers who do not receive the notice by mail at the start of a new year will have to submit their FTI authorization via mail.
- Consumer may call MNsure or have their assister call the Broker Service Line or ARC on their behalf to have the notice sent to them. A special envelope will be included with the notice which will prioritize the handling of it when it is received back at MNsure.
Tax Credit Reconciliation
Assisted qualified health plans (QHPs): MNsure will send consumers IRS Form 1095-A, which is needed to reconcile advanced premium tax credit (APTC) payments made on their behalf.
- MNsure will mail the IRS Form 1095-A to consumers who were enrolled in a qualified health plan by January 31.
- Directions for consumers to find their Form 1095-A are located on MNsure.org in the Where to Find Form 1095-A page. An assister should NOT view or print a consumer’s Form 1095-A through their assister portal account or on a consumer’s behalf.
- Consumers can use the Get Online Help option on MNsure.org (select private health or dental insurance plan) to request a duplicate 1095-A form or to check status of a missing/corrected 1095-A form.
For more information on Form 1095-A and tax credit reconciliation, refer MNsure's guide for assisters on Form 1095-A: Form 1095-A Reference Guide for Assisters Plan Year 2022 (PDF)
Unassisted qualified health plans (QHPs): Consumers will not receive Form 1095-A if they enrolled through MNsure in a QHP without financial assistance. However, consumers may be still be eligible to claim a premium tax credit when filing their taxes, even if they applied and enrolled “without financial help.”
- If qualified, consumers will need to file Form 8962 (Premium Tax Credit) with their taxes. Consumers will also need to calculate the second lowest cost silver plan premium using MNsure’s plan premium look-up tool.
Tax Filing Requirements
Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare: Visit the Minnesota Department of Human Services IRS Form 1095-B for Certain Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare Enrollees page for more information.
Qualified health plans (QHPs): Consumers who purchased a QHP through MNsure and received advanced premium tax credit (APTC) or wish to claim the premium tax credit must file taxes with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
- If they fail to file taxes, they will not be eligible for premium tax credits in the future.
- In addition, the IRS may contact a consumer to pay back some or all of the advance payments of the premium tax credit.
- Reminder: Assisters should not provide advice to consumers on tax issues in their assister role.
