Oct 275 min read

US Federal Tax Forms: Form 1095-A, Filing Status, Investment Income and Property Sales

Updated: Oct 27

Form 1095-A

Form 1095-A is a tax document sent to US Taxpayers who have obtained health insurance coverage through a Health Insurance Marketplace or exchange, and are eligible for the Premium Tax Credit.

It includes information about the following:

The amount of premium tax credits you used in advance during the year.
Your health coverage by month.
Other information about your health insurance.

When purchasing health coverage through one of the health insurance marketplaces, you will be provided with Form 1095-A, with the information needed to claim the premium tax credit using Form 8962.

Form 1095-A can be used to determine whether you claimed too much or too little of the advance premium tax credit. This is calculated by comparing the difference between the amount of premium tax receipt you used in advance, and the actual premium tax credit you qualify for based on your total income for the year.

What is the Premium Tax Credit?

The premium tax credit is offered as a tax break for taxpayers to offset the costs of health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. To qualify, your income has to be within a range of 100%-400% or the federal poverty level.

Taxpayers who are eligible for the premium tax credit can use it in one of two ways:

Up front: immediately reduce insurance premiums with the credit
Annual return: the credit can be used to reduce your total tax liability when you file your annual return.

How to Obtain Form 1095-A

Form 1095 typically arrives in the mail by mid-February. Alternatively, you can get your Form 1095-A form online by mid-January through your HealthCare.gov account. Instructions can be found here.

Further References and Resources for Form 1095-A

Form 1095-A can be downloaded directly from the IRS website.
Complete, official instructions from the IRS can be found here.

Collecting Key Information For Tax Filing

With all the right data on hand, you can ensure a smoother tax filing process, minimize the risk of errors, and potentially maximize your tax benefits. Be sure to proactively collect the relevant information listed below so you’re not scrambling during tax season!

Filing status

Your personal tax filing status is an important consideration that determines your filing requirements, standard deduction, eligibility for certain tax credits, and the overall bottom line of how much tax you will pay. It is determined by marital status, the number of children, occupation, and several other factors.

Please note that the below information applies only to US Citizens or resident aliens who resided in the US for the entire tax year (and, if married, those whose spouses meet the same criteria). If you are an expat or have a non-US spouse, please refer to our guide on determining your tax residency status.

For federal income tax purposes, a taxpayer falls into one of five categories:

Single	Taxpayer is unmarried, divorced, a registered domestic partner, or legally separated. The single category has lower income limits for most exemptions.
Married Filing Jointly	Taxpayers who file tax returns jointly with their spouse can record their respective incomes, exemptions, and deductions on the same form. A joint tax return often provides a bigger tax refund or a lower tax liability.
Married Filing Separately	Married taxpayers may choose to file their returns separately. This can be advantageous if one spouse has a significantly higher income than the other.
Head of Household	A single or unmarried taxpayer who pays at least 50% of the costs of supporting their household and lives with other qualifying family members for whom they provide support for more than half of the year, including various bills and common household expenses. Examples of qualifying members include a dependent child, grandchild, sibling, grandparent, or anyone else you can claim as an exemption. A head of household benefits from a lower tax rate.
Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child	During the year in which a spouse dies, the surviving spouse can typically use the joint filing status. For the following two tax years, the surviving spouse can file as a qualifying surviving spouse. The surviving spouse may claim the standard deduction for a couple filing jointly.

Non-wage Income

Aside from wages, there is also tax obligation for other income sources. Carefully recording your income from these sources is an important step in determining your actual tax liability.

Investment Income

There are typically two times when your taxes are affected by investments:

1. Income From Investments

The income you receive from interest and dividends are generally taxed at your ordinary income tax rate. Certain dividends can receive special tax treatment to be taxed at lower long-term capital gains tax rates. Contact your investment brokerage company for information regarding qualified dividends.

2. Gains and Losses From Investment Sales

You are required to pay taxes on the sale of capital assets when there is a gain. If there’s a loss, you may be able to offset other realized gains or take a deduction.

Common examples of capital assets include:

Stocks
Bonds
Mutual fund shares
Real estate

There are two general types of capital gains - short-term and long-term. Short-term capital gains are for capital assets you hold for a year or less. These are usually taxed at your ordinary income tax rate. Long-term capital gains are for capital assets you hold for over a year. They are typically taxed at a lower rate than your ordinary income tax rate.

For reference, below are the long-term capital gains tax rates for the 2024 tax year:

Filing Status	0% Tax Rate	15% Tax Rate	20% Tax Rate
Single	Up to $47,025	$47,026 – $518,900	Over $518,900
Married filing jointly	Up to $94,050	$94,051 – $583,750	Over $583,750
Married filing separately	Up to $47,025	$47,026 – $291,850	Over $291,850
Head of household	Up to $63,000	$63,001 – $551,350	Over $551,350

Source: IRS

To file capital gain taxes, you will report each sale on IRS Form 8949 and report the gain and losses on Form 1040 Schedule D, which summarizes capital gains and losses throughout the tax year. The information on Schedule D will be transferred to Form 1040.

Note on losses: In general, you can offset your total taxable capital gains with any capital losses incurred in the same tax year.

Property Sales

Full capital gains tax rates will apply to income earned from real estate sales, unless the home is your primary residence. If the home is your primary residence, you are entitled to an exemption:

Single taxpayers: $250,000 exemption
Married taxpayers: $500,000 exemption
Widowed taxpayers: $500,000 exemption, with restrictions:
The home was sold within two years of the death of your spouse
You have not remarried at the time of the sale
Neither you nor your late spouse received a similar exemption in the two years prior to the sale of the home
You meet the ownership and residence requirements (see below).

This exemption is allowed only once every two years, and you are allowed to add any cost basis or cost of any improvements that you made to the home to the exemption total. Widowed taxpayers may be able to increase the exclusion amounts.

To be considered your primary residence, your home must meet the ownership test and the use test. Generally, you must have owned and occupied the home for at least 24 months out of the 5 years prior to the date of sale. A rental property may be converted into a principal residence.

A full explanation of the qualification requirements can be found in IRS Publication 523.