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Form 1095-A Column B: Second Lowest Cost Silver Plan

Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: Column B of Form 1095-A is the monthly premium for the applicable second lowest cost silver plan, the benchmark used in the premium tax credit. It can be blank, wrong or -0-, and the Form 8962 instructions say you must then work out the correct figure yourself. You do not have to request a corrected form to do that.

Form 8962 (premium tax credit) for 2025, read line by line: Form 8962 lines 11 to 23, Form 8962 lines 30 to 34 and Form 8962 lines 35 and 36.

What column B shows

The recipient instructions describe the column: “This column is the monthly premium for the second lowest cost silver plan (SLCSP) that the Marketplace has determined applies to members of your family enrolled in the coverage.” They explain why it matters: “The applicable SLCSP premium is used to compute your monthly advance credit payments and the premium tax credit you take on your return.” The Form 8962 instructions add that the figure is not your own premium: “The SLCSP premium is not the same as your enrollment premium, unless you enroll in the applicable SLCSP.” Your own premium is column A, covered on the Form 1095-A column A page. The overview of the set is Form 1095 explained.

Whose family counts

The filer instructions define the applicable plan: “If advance payments were made, the applicable SLCSP for a month is the SLCSP that applies to individuals in Part II who were identified, at enrollment, as members of the tax filer’s tax family”, and they narrow it to people “who are enrolled in the coverage on the first day of the month and are not eligible for other health coverage for that month.” Form 8962 calls the group a coverage family and defines the applicable SLCSP premium as “the second lowest cost silver plan premium offered through the Marketplace where you reside that applies to your coverage family”. The people listed come from Part II, explained on the Form 1095-A Parts I and II page.

Coverage that starts after the first of the month

The first-day test creates a -0- case: “If all covered individuals enroll after the first of the month, and no individual’s coverage is effective on the date of the individual’s birth, adoption, placement in foster care, or on the effective date of a court order, enter -0- in column B for that month.” The birth and adoption exceptions are in the sentence before it: “the individual should be considered to have enrolled on the first day of the month for purposes of the applicable SLCSP premium reported in column B.” And a month where coverage ends early is covered by “if an individual is enrolled on the first day of the month, but terminates coverage before the last day of the month, report in Column B as if the individual was enrolled for the entire month.”

More than one Form 1095-A, and unpaid months

For a family split across policies: “enter the SLCSP premium that applies to all the family members who were enrolled in any policy on the first of the month and who were not eligible for other health coverage for that month.” The sentence closes with “Enter this SLCSP premium in column B on each Form 1095-A.” That is why Form 8962 later says to use only one of the figures, as the Form 1095-A line 33 page shows.

Unpaid months follow a similar pattern to column A, but column B adds a condition. The filer instructions say “In a month where premiums are not fully paid and advance credit payments are made, you must report the SLCSP premium that would apply as if the enrollment premiums had been paid in full for the following situations.” Those situations are the first month of a grace period, a month where the monthly premium payment threshold has been met and a qualified health plan provides coverage, and a month covered by a state order issued during a declared emergency. “In other months where monthly premiums are not fully paid, report $0 as the SLCSP premium.”

When column B is blank

A blank is allowed in one situation. The filer instructions say that when enrollment information does not show who is in the family, for example “because no financial assistance was requested”, and “if the Marketplace has provided a tool for determining the applicable SLCSP premium for the year of coverage at the time of filing the tax return, leave column B blank.” Otherwise “enter the premiums for the SLCSP that would apply to all individuals identified in Part II as covered for the month.”

What Form 8962 says to do when column B is missing or incorrect

Form 8962 names the cases: “Form 1095-A, Part III, column B, may be wrong or blank or may report your applicable SLCSP premium as -0-.” Its conclusion is direct: “you must determine your correct applicable SLCSP premium.” and “You do not have to request a corrected Form 1095-A from the Marketplace.”

The instructions give two situations. The first is “No APTC was paid for your coverage.” in which the column may be “wrong, left blank, or reported as -0-.” The second is “Change in circumstances affecting SLCSP.” For the method, the instructions point to “To determine your applicable SLCSP premium for each month, see Pub. 974” and, for the federally facilitated Marketplace, “if you enrolled through the federally facilitated Marketplace, go to HealthCare.gov/Tax-Tool/”.

Changes the Marketplace may not know about

Form 8962 lists examples where an unreported change makes column B unreliable, including “You enrolled an individual newly added to your tax family during 2025 (for example, a newborn).” and “An individual in your coverage family became eligible for or lost eligibility for employer coverage or other MEC during 2025.” and “You moved during 2025.” The closing instruction is “determine the correct applicable SLCSP premium for the months affected.”

Why this changes which Form 8962 lines you use

Form 8962 line 10 asks whether you can use the annual line 11. One of its conditions is “Your SLCSP premium is the same for every month of 2025.” If you worked out a correct figure that varies, the instructions say “If your correct applicable SLCSP premium is not the same for all 12 months” you continue to lines 12 through 23.

Form 8962 gives a worked case in its own words: “Because the SLCSP premium is not the same for every month of the year, Mike and Susan cannot use line 11 and must complete lines 12 through 23 on Form 8962.” In the other example the instructions show a month where “column B reports $650 for December on line 32” after a reported change. Those are the IRS examples, not figures to copy to your own return. For the credit side of the arithmetic, the ACA subsidy calculator page and the ACA subsidy cliff page are separate reading.

Edition and tax year

The 2025 Form 1095-A and the 2025 Instructions for Form 1095-A were the ones read for this page, along with the 2025 Form 8962 and its instructions. They were the current files on irs.gov on 2026-10-17. Check the tax year printed on the form you received.

Common mistakes

  • Asking the Marketplace for a corrected form before checking Form 8962. The instructions say “You do not have to request a corrected Form 1095-A from the Marketplace.”
  • Assuming a blank in column B is an error. The filer instructions allow it when “the Marketplace has provided a tool for determining the applicable SLCSP premium” is available at filing time.
  • Using line 11 when the correct benchmark changed during the year. Line 10 requires “Your SLCSP premium is the same for every month of 2025.”

Related: ACA subsidy calculator, ACA subsidy cliff, Managing MAGI for ACA subsidies, and Form 1040.

Sources

Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 17, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.

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