Form 1095-A ... TurboTax is asking for more information that's not on the form

[TallBadJim]

Working on our 2023 Tax return and specifically the Form 1095-A. 

Under Part III column A, the Form 1095-A is showing zero for January thru September in column A .  There are premium amounts October, November and December in column A.   Columns B and C show all zeros for all months. 

I've entered the three premium amounts into TurboTax in column A, and TurboTax is looking for an amount greater than zero in column B for these same last 3 months.  I can't get past this error.  I've left the column B field blank, and I've also entered zero, and TurboTax returns the same error "Must be greater than $0". I did enter .01 in the 3 fields and TurboTax accepted this. But I don't think that is the correct solution.

Any ideas on how to resolve this ? 

[MinhT1]

The SLCSP premium is incorrect if:

• Part III, Column B has a “0” or is blank for any month someone in your household had the Marketplace plan
• You had changes in your household that you didn’t tell the Marketplace about — like having a baby, moving, getting married or divorced, or losing a dependent

If either applies to you, you’ll use the government's tax tool to get the premium for your second lowest cost Silver plan and fill that cost in column B of form 1095-A. Failure to do this will result in a wrong calculation of the premium tax credit.

[TallBadJim]

Based on our adjusted gross income and the fact that we have an HSA balance I don't believe we qualify for a Marketplace policy or any Premium Tax Credit. 

My spouse's last month on COBRA was September.  We found a medical policy, outside of the marketplace for the last three months of 2023, where we pay a premium $400 less monthly than what the government's tax tool calculated as a monthly SLCSP. 

For only three months this gave us a nearly $2,200 Premium Tax Credit on Form 8962.  I understand the calculation on Form 8962, But still I don't think we're entitled to such a high Premium Tax Credit, even if we are entitled to a credit at all.

[Vanessa A]

"We found a medical policy, outside of the marketplace for the last three months of 2023, where we pay a premium $400 less monthly than what the government's tax tool calculated as a monthly SLCSP." Are you sure this wasn't a marketplace plan? If you did not have insurance through the marketplace, you should not have received a 1095-A with premiums in them. Since you received a 1095-A, I would guess the plan you had, even if you got it through a broker, came from the Marketplace.

If your income is less than 400% of the Federal Poverty Level for your family size, you can qualify for the Premium Tax Credit.  So, it is possible that you do qualify for the credit. 

Since you did not receive the credit in Advance, if you are certain you do not qualify for the credit and do not want the credit, you do not have to file form 8962 or enter the 1095-A. 

[Trowa]

"If either applies to you, you’ll use the government's tax tool to get the premium for your second lowest cost Silver plan and fill that cost in column B of form 1095-A. Failure to do this will result in a wrong calculation of the premium tax credit."

That tax tool doesn't work for California, it redirects you to the Covered California website and there's no where to go from there.

From what I found searching second-lowest-cost Silver plan on Covered California, it seems like this is the only way to calculate the necessary info:

"You may need to calculate the lowest-cost Bronze plan and the second-lowest-cost Silver plan on the Marketplace Coverage Affordability Worksheet. 

Follow the steps below to find the lowest-cost Bronze plan and the second-lowest-cost Silver plan available in your area:

Step 1: Go to Covered California’s Shop and Compare Tool.

Step 2: From the dropdown menu:

• Select the tax year in which you need information
• Enter your ZIP code (and county, if prompted)
• Enter your total household income for the tax filing year
• Enter the number of people in your tax household
• Enter the age of the head of household and other members of your tax household then select “Needs Coverage” for each member
  •  Note: do not select the boxes for pregnant or blind or disabled for purposes of completing the FTB Marketplace Coverage Affordability Worksheet

Step 3: Select "See My Results" after entering the information.

Step 4: Select "Continue" after the pop up appears.

Step 5: Select "Preview Plans."

Step 6: Skip the screens, “Tell us about your health care needs,” by selecting "Next."

Step 7: Select "View Plans."

Step 8: Find the lowest-cost Bronze plan premium:

• Use the “Sort By” menu and sort by Monthly Premium (low to high).
• Use "Filter By" and scroll to "Metal Tier," then select "Bronze."
• When sorted low to high, find the first Bronze plan on the screen.
• Add together the monthly premium (the dollar amount in large black font) and the “after $[x] monthly savings” (the dollar amount in bold blue font). The sum of these amounts is the gross monthly premium for the lowest-cost Bronze plan. 
• Enter this number on Line 1 of the Marketplace Coverage Affordability Worksheet used for claiming an affordability exemption on your state tax return.

Step 9: Find the second-lowest-cost Silver plan premium:

• Use the "Sort By" menu and sort by Monthly Premium (low to high).
• Use "Filter By" and scroll to "Metal Tier," then select "Silver" (make sure that Bronze is not also selected).
• When sorted low to high, find the second Silver plan on the top row.
• Add together the monthly premium (the dollar amount in large black font) and the “after $[x] monthly savings” (the dollar amount in bold blue font). The sum of these amounts is the gross monthly premium for the second-lowest-cost Silver plan.
• Enter this number on Line 10 of the FTB Marketplace Coverage Affordability Worksheet used for claiming an affordability exemption on your state tax return.

If you need help, please contact the Covered California Service Center. Representatives can help you calculate the gross premium amounts to use in the Marketplace Coverage Affordability Worksheet but cannot provide tax advice."