This Form 1095-C 2026 guide explains the IRS Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage. Form 1095-C reports an employer offer of health coverage and, when applicable, enrollment information. Codes, employee information and monthly offer details are central to the form. Its employer reporting role differs from the Marketplace premium-credit reconciliation performed on an individual return.
Reviewed October 31, 2026. This is an independent guide. The version and availability information below identifies the IRS documents used for this page.
What Form 1095-C 2026 does and who prepares it
An applicable large employer prepares the form to report employer health coverage information for an employee.
For the connected reporting route, see Form 1094-C. Keep the role of that document separate from the task explained on this page.
| Official form | Form 1095-C |
|---|---|
| IRS title | Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage |
| Guide period | 2026 |
| Target version | 2026 |
| Availability | Current IRS catalog PDF |
| Last checked | October 31, 2026 |
Get the Form 1095-C 2026 PDF and check its status
Use the IRS source to confirm the document before completing a real filing. The download link is a reference to the official file; it is not a statement that every copy inside the PDF may be printed and submitted. Follow any instructions about electronic filing, scannable copies, recipient copies or attachments.
Which version of Form 1095-C 2026 should you use?
The 2026 in the title identifies the tax year or calendar-year information addressed by this guide. For a 2026 income reporting document, the preparation or filing activity may occur in 2027. Do not change the income year simply because the calendar has changed. The exact filing or furnishing date comes from the instructions for this form and the filer circumstances.
Records to gather for Form 1095-C 2026
- Employee eligibility records.
- Monthly coverage offers.
- Employee contribution information.
- Enrollment details for self-insured coverage when applicable.
- Employer identifying information.
Keep a working reconciliation with these records. It should show the source of each reported item, any correction made before filing and the reason a different amount appears on a connected form. This is especially useful when a statement is corrected or a prior-year balance continues into the current calculation.
How to work through Form 1095-C 2026
- Identify the issuer and recipient. Check which person or entity prepares the information return and which person receives a statement. Use the correct copy and filing route for that role.
- Reconcile the underlying records. Compare the statement with the transaction, payroll, account or payment records. Resolve duplicate reporting and unexplained differences before carrying a total into a return.
- Read boxes and codes separately. Different boxes can describe different tax categories. A gross payment, a taxable amount, a withholding credit and an identifying code should not be combined as if they were one measure.
- Use the correct return treatment. An information return supplies facts. It does not independently establish every deduction, exclusion, credit or final tax result for the recipient.
- Address corrections at the source. Check the issuer correction process for an incorrect statement. If a related tax return has already been filed, review separately whether that return also needs a correction.
Form-specific IRS instructions and reporting details
The following points retain the operative wording of the IRS documents linked above. Read each point with its stated conditions and the applicable form version. References to another form or section describe a connected requirement; they do not mean that every reader must file every referenced document.
ALE Members that offer employer-sponsored, self-insured coverage also use Form 1095-C to report information to the IRS and to employees about individuals who have minimum essential coverage under the employer plan.
ALE Members that offer employer-sponsored, self-insured health coverage to nonemployees who enroll in the coverage may use Forms 1094-B and 1095-B, rather than Form 1095-C, Part III, to report coverage for those individuals and other family members. For this purpose, a nonemployee includes, for example, a nonemployee director, an individual who was a retired employee during the entire year, or a nonemployee COBRA beneficiary, including a former employee who terminated employment during a previous year.
For information on reporting for nonemployees enrolled in an employer-sponsored, self-insured health plan using Forms 1094-B and 1095-B, see the instructions for those forms. For ALE Members that choose to use Form 1095-C to report coverage information for nonemployees enrolled in an employer-sponsored, self-insured health plan, see the specific instructions for Form 1095-C, Part III—Covered Individuals (Lines 18–30), later. Form 1095-C may be used only if the individual identified on line 1 has an SSN.
An employer that offers health coverage through a self-insured health plan must report information about each individual enrolled in such coverage. For an employer that is an ALE Member, this information must be reported on Form 1095-C, Part III, for any employee who is enrolled in coverage (and any spouse or dependent of that employee). See the option to file Form 1094-B and Form 1095-B, rather than Form 1094-C and Form 1095-C, to report coverage of certain nonemployees, below.
Additional reporting conditions
Specific Instructions for Form 1095-C Part I—Employee Line 1. Enter the name of the employee (first name, middle initial, last name). Line 2. Enter the nine-digit SSN of the employee (including the dashes). Lines 3–6. Enter the employee’s complete address, including apartment no., if applicable. A country code is not required for U.S. addresses.
Enter the code identifying the type of health coverage actually offered by the ALE Member (or on behalf of the ALE Member) to the employee, if any. If the employee was not actually offered coverage, enter code 1H (no offer of coverage) on line 14.
For reporting offers of coverage for 2026, an ALE Member relying on the multiemployer arrangement interim guidance should enter code 1H on line 14 for any month for which the ALE Member enters code 2E on line 16 (indicating that the ALE Member was required to contribute to a multiemployer plan on behalf of the employee for that month and therefore is eligible for multiemployer interim rule relief). For a description of the multiemployer arrangement interim guidance, see Offer of health coverage in the Definitions section.
For reporting for 2026, code 1H may be entered without regard to whether the employee was eligible to enroll, or enrolled in, coverage under the multiemployer plan. For reporting for 2027 and future years, ALE Members relying on the multiemployer arrangement interim guidance may be required to report offers of coverage made through a multiemployer plan in a different manner.
Calculations and supporting information
• The ALE Member was eligible for multiemployer interim rule relief for this employee. If no indicator code applies, leave line 16 blank. In some circumstances, more than one indicator code could apply to the same employee in the same month. For example, an employee could be enrolled in health coverage for a particular month during which they are not a full-time employee. However, only one code may be used for a particular calendar month.
For any month in which an employee enrolled in minimum essential coverage, in general, indicator code 2C reporting enrollment is used instead of any other indicator code that could also apply (but see the exceptions to this rule below regarding the multiemployer interim rule relief and enrollment in COBRA continuation coverage or other post-employment coverage). For an employee who did not enroll in health coverage, there are some specific ordering rules for which code to use. See the descriptions of the codes.
If two or more employees employed by the same ALE Member are spouses or an employee and their dependent, and one employee enrolled in a coverage option under the plan that also covered the other employee(s) (for example, one employee spouse enrolled in family coverage that provided coverage to the other employee spouse and their employee dependent child), the enrollment information should be reflected only on Form 1095-C for the employee who enrolled in the coverage. (However, it would report the other employee family members as covered individuals.)
Exceptions and related reporting
Tip: Governmental Unit employers offering self-insured health coverage that have delegated another Governmental Unit (DGE) for purposes of reporting and furnishing enrollment information (meaning the information that otherwise would be reported on Form 1095-C, Part III), but have not designated a DGE for purposes of reporting and furnishing offer of coverage information (meaning the information that is reported on Form 1095-C, Part II), should file and furnish Forms 1095-C with a completed Part I and Part II, but not a completed Part III, and should not check the box indicating that the Governmental Unit offers self-insured health coverage.
In this case, the DGE should file Forms 1094-B and 1095-B to report enrollment information for employees on behalf of the Governmental Unit. See FAQs on IRS.gov.
Tip: Interim guidance regarding multiemployer arrangements. An ALE Member is treated as offering health coverage to an employee if the ALE Member is required by a collective bargaining agreement or related participation agreement to make contributions for that employee to a multiemployer plan that offers, to individuals who satisfy the plan’s eligibility conditions, health coverage that is affordable and provides minimum value, and that also offers health coverage to those individuals’ dependents. For more information, see section XV.E of the preamble to the final regulations under section 4980H.
This relief is referred to as the “multiemployer arrangement interim guidance” and the “multiemployer interim rule relief” in these instructions.
Further form details
Part II. Employer Offer of Coverage, Lines 14–17 Line 14. The codes listed next for line 14 describe the coverage that your employer offered to you and your spouse and dependent(s), if any. (If you received an offer of coverage through a multiemployer plan due to your membership in a union, that offer may not be shown on line 14.) The information on line 14 relates to eligibility for coverage subsidized by the premium tax credit for you, your spouse, and dependent(s). For more information about the premium tax credit, see Pub. 974.
Reading the lines and boxes
These selected labels come from the linked target PDF. They are a reading aid, not a replacement for the full line instructions or a completed calculation. Match the label and document version before transferring any amount.
| Line or box | Label in the source form | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Name of employee (first name, middle initial, last name) | Use the identity of the person or entity requested on this line. Check that the name and identification number agree with the underlying tax records. |
| 3 | Street address (including apartment no.) | Check the applicable line instructions and keep the source workpaper with the return records. Transfer only the information that matches the field and reporting period. |
| 4 | City or town | Check the applicable line instructions and keep the source workpaper with the return records. Transfer only the information that matches the field and reporting period. |
| 6 | Country and ZIP or foreign postal code | Check the applicable line instructions and keep the source workpaper with the return records. Transfer only the information that matches the field and reporting period. |
| 16 | Section 4980H | Check the applicable line instructions and keep the source workpaper with the return records. Transfer only the information that matches the field and reporting period. |
A practical example
An employer reviews monthly eligibility and coverage records before preparing employee statements. An employee who receives a statement checks the reported offer and coverage facts rather than treating the form as a bill or as a replacement for a Marketplace statement.
This example illustrates the order of the review. It does not assume an unverified deduction, exemption, treaty rate or final tax amount. The applicable form instructions and the actual records determine the result.
Common mistakes to avoid with Form 1095-C 2026
- Do not interpret an offer code without the instructions for that code.
- Coverage information and premium tax credit reconciliation are separate matters.
- Reconcile the employer transmittal totals with the employee forms.
Questions about Form 1095-C 2026
Does receiving or downloading this form mean I must file it?
An applicable large employer prepares the form to report employer health coverage information for an employee. The form purpose and the applicable filing or furnishing conditions determine the action. Downloading a blank PDF does not itself create a filing obligation or establish eligibility for a tax benefit.
Is the revision date always the same as the tax year?
No. Some forms show a tax year, while continuing-use forms show a revision date and ask separately for the reporting period. Check the actual document and instructions. Do not relabel a payment or transaction solely because it was reported in a later calendar year.
What should I do if the underlying information is wrong?
Do not interpret an offer code without the instructions for that code. Keep the original record and the correction trail. The issuer correction process, an amended return and an updated certificate can be different procedures. Choose the process that matches the document and the actual error.
Which records should I keep with the completed form?
Retain the source documents, applicable worksheets, submitted version and filing or furnishing confirmations. For this form, the working file should include employee eligibility records, monthly coverage offers, employee contribution information. Keep continuing balances and prior-year support for as long as they remain relevant under the applicable recordkeeping rules.
Related forms and next steps
Use these guides when the connected issue applies to your records. Each page has its own purpose, reporting year and availability status.