Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: Line 15 of Form 1095-C reports the employee required contribution, which the form describes as the monthly cost to you for the lowest cost self-only coverage your employer offered that provides minimum value. It carries an amount only when certain line 14 codes appear. The instructions add that the figure may not be what you actually paid for coverage.
What line 15 shows
The instructions printed for the person receiving the form say: “This line reports the employee required contribution, which is the monthly cost to you for the lowest cost self-only minimum essential coverage providing minimum value that your employer offered you.” Line 15 is in Part II of the form, which is headed “Employer Offer of Coverage”. It sits beside line 14, covered on the pages for line 14 code 1A, line 14 codes 1B to 1E, line 14 codes 1F, 1G and 1H, line 14 codes 1J and 1K and line 14 codes 1L to 1U. The overview for the whole form is Form 1095 explained.
The filer’s instructions say the same thing from the employer’s side: “Enter the amount of the Employee Required Contribution, which is, generally, the employee share of the monthly cost for the lowest-cost, self-only, minimum essential coverage providing minimum value that is offered to the employee.” Read together, the line is about one specific plan option, the cheapest self-only option that meets the minimum value test, and not about the plan you picked.
When line 15 has an amount
Line 15 is not filled in for every offer. The recipient instructions say: “Line 15 will show an amount only if code 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1J, 1K, 1L, 1M, 1N, 1O, 1P, 1Q, 1T, or 1U is entered on line 14.” The filer’s instructions give the matching rule: “Complete line 15 only if code 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1J, 1K, 1L, 1M, 1N, 1O, 1P, 1Q, 1T, or 1U is entered on line 14 either in the “All 12 Months” box or in any of the monthly boxes.” If your line 14 shows a different code, such as one of those described on the line 14 codes 1F, 1G and 1H page, an empty line 15 is what the instructions describe.
The 0.00 rule
A free offer still gets a number. The filer’s instructions say: “If the employee is offered coverage but the Employee Required Contribution is zero, enter “0.00” (do not leave blank).” The recipient instructions describe the same case: “If you were offered coverage but there is no cost to you for the coverage, this line will report “0.00” for the amount.” So a line 15 of 0.00 is an amount that means the offered coverage had no employee share, and it is different from a line left empty because the line 14 code did not call for an amount.
One amount or twelve
The filer’s instructions allow a single entry when nothing changed during the year: “If the Employee Required Contribution was the same amount for all 12 calendar months, you may enter that monthly amount in the “All 12 Months” box and not complete the monthly boxes.” When the amount did change, the instructions give an example, a plan year that starts mid-year: “enter the amount in each calendar month for which the employee was offered minimum value coverage.” If you see different numbers in different months on line 15, a plan year that starts partway through the calendar year is one of the situations the instructions describe.
The definition behind the number
The Definitions section of the filer’s instructions spells out the term: “The Employee Required Contribution is the employee’s share of the monthly cost for the lowest-cost, self-only minimum essential coverage providing minimum value that is offered to the employee by the ALE Member.” An ALE Member is the employer that files the form. The next sentence defines the employee share: “The employee share is the portion of the monthly cost that would be paid by the employee for self-only coverage, whether paid through salary reduction or otherwise.”
For turning annual data into a monthly figure the instructions say: “an ALE Member may divide the total cost to the employee for the plan year by the number of months in the plan year.” Their example for a calendar-year plan is: “if the plan year begins January 1, the ALE Member may determine the amount to report for each month by taking the total annual employee cost for all 12 months and dividing by 12.”
A labelled illustration of that division
This is an illustration, not an IRS example, and the figures are made up. Suppose the lowest-cost self-only option cost the employee a total of $1,200 for the plan year. Following the division the instructions describe, $1,200 divided by 12 months is $100 a month, so line 15 would carry 100.00 for each of those months. Your own form will show whatever your employer determined under its plan.
Line 15 may not be what you pay
The recipient instructions warn: “The amount reported on line 15 may not be the amount you paid for coverage if, for example, you chose to enroll in more expensive coverage such as family coverage.” The filer’s instructions carry a tip that says the same: “For line 15, the amount entered might not be the amount the employee is paying for the coverage, for example, if the employee chose to enroll in more expensive coverage, such as family coverage, or if the employee is eligible for certain other healthcare arrangements.” And in the Definitions: “The Employee Required Contribution may not be the amount the employee paid for coverage.”
In practice, that means your pay stub and line 15 can differ without either one being wrong. If you want to see how a number like this feeds into credit questions, the ACA subsidy calculator and ACA affordability percentage for 2026 pages work through the ACA side, and the ACA affordability percentage for 2027 page covers the next year.
Individual coverage HRA
For an offer through an individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement the figure is built differently. The recipient instructions say: “For an individual coverage HRA, the employee required contribution is the excess of the monthly premium based on the employee’s applicable age for the applicable lowest cost silver plan over the monthly individual coverage HRA amount (generally, the annual individual coverage HRA amount divided by 12).” Line 17 then reports the ZIP code used, which is covered on the Part III and line 17 page. The line 14 codes for these offers are on the line 14 codes 1L to 1U page.
This is an illustration, not an IRS example, and the figures are made up. If the monthly premium for the applicable lowest cost silver plan were $500 and the annual HRA amount were $3,600 for the year, the monthly HRA amount would be $3,600 divided by 12, which is $300. The excess of $500 over $300 is $200.
Edition and tax year
The 2025 Form 1095-C and the 2025 Instructions for Forms 1094-C and 1095-C were the ones read for this page. They were the current files on irs.gov on 2026-10-17. Check the tax year printed on the form you received.
Common mistakes
- Treating line 15 as your own premium. The instructions say it “may not be the amount you paid for coverage” if, for example, you enrolled in more expensive coverage.
- Reading a blank line 15 as zero. The instructions reserve zero for offers where the cost is nothing: “enter “0.00” (do not leave blank)”, while line 15 is completed only for the listed line 14 codes.
- Expecting line 15 to describe the plan you chose. The line concerns “the lowest-cost, self-only, minimum essential coverage providing minimum value”, which can be a different option from the one you are enrolled in.
Related: ACA subsidy calculator, ACA affordability percentage for 2026, ACA affordability percentage for 2027, and COBRA versus ACA at retirement.
Sources
- Form 1095-C (2025), Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1095c.pdf
- 2025 Instructions for Forms 1094-C and 1095-C: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i109495c.pdf
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.