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Form 1095-A Column A: Monthly Enrollment Premiums

Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: Column A of Form 1095-A is the monthly premium for the plan you or your family were enrolled in, including the part paid through advance payments of the premium tax credit. A -0- in a month is a flag for Form 8962, which has its own entry rules for those months. The annual total goes to column (a) of Form 8962.

Form 8962 (premium tax credit) for 2025, read line by line: Form 8962 lines 9 and 10, Form 8962 lines 11 to 23 and Form 8962 lines 30 to 34.

What column A shows

The recipient instructions describe the column in one sentence: “This column is the monthly premiums for the plan in which you or family members were enrolled, including premiums that you paid and premiums that were paid through advance payments of the premium tax credit.” The form’s own caption is “A. Monthly enrollment premiums”. It is one of three dollar columns; the others are on the Form 1095-A column B and Form 1095-A column C pages. The overview of the whole set is Form 1095 explained.

Which premiums are counted

The filer instructions put a boundary on the column: “Include only the premiums allocable to essential health benefits.” The recipient instructions describe the effect on your copy: “If your plan covered benefits that aren’t essential health benefits, such as adult dental or vision benefits, the amount in this column will be reduced by the premiums for the nonessential benefits.”

A related sentence in the Form 8962 instructions defines the term Form 8962 reads: “The enrollment premiums are the total amount of the premiums for the month, reduced by any premium amounts for that month that were refunded in 2025”. It then names the source: “Form 1095-A, Part III, column A, reports the enrollment premiums.”

Stand-alone dental coverage

Dental coverage can show up in this column. The recipient instructions say “If you or a family member enrolled in a separate dental plan with pediatric benefits, this column includes the portion of the dental plan premiums for the pediatric benefits.” The filer instructions add a rule for families with more than one form: “include the portion of the premium for pediatric dental coverage in the amount in column A on only one Form 1095-A.”

Form 8962 repeats the point from the other side: “the portion of the dental plan premiums for the pediatric benefits will be included in the amount in column A on the Form 1095-A that reports the coverage in your primary health plan.” A separate dental policy is also the reason for the VOID statement described on the Form 1095-A VOID, CORRECTED or missing page.

Months with a -0-

The column can show -0- for a month. The filer instructions explain when the Marketplace still enters a full amount: “In a month where premiums are not fully paid, you still need to enter the full amount of the monthly premiums in the following circumstances.” They then list three: “It is the first month of a grace period for the enrollees.” and “The monthly premium payment threshold has been met and a qualified health plan provides coverage.” and “A state department of insurance has issued an order prohibiting the issuer from terminating coverage for the month during a declared emergency.”

For every other unpaid month the instruction is “For other months where the monthly premiums were not fully paid, enter a -0- for that month.” The sections below show how Form 8962 reads column A.

Refunds and premium credits

Two adjustments are written into the filer instructions. For refunds: “If an individual terminates coverage before the last day of a month, do not include any refunded premiums in the amount reported in that month’s column.” For issuer credits: “If the issuer provided a premium credit, reduce the amount of monthly enrollment premium by any premium credit received during that month.” If a month on your form looks lower than the premium you remember, those are the rules the Marketplace was following.

How Form 8962 reads a -0- month

The recipient instructions send you to Form 8962: “See the instructions for Form 8962, Part II, on how to complete Form 8962 if -0- is reported for 1 or more months.”

Those instructions say “You are not allowed a monthly credit amount for any month that the enrollment premiums for the month were not paid by the due date of your return (not including extensions), unless the amount of the premium paid for the month is sufficient to avoid termination of the coverage for that month under one of the scenarios described under Enrollment premiums, earlier.” They continue: “If a -0- appears on any of lines 21 through 32, column A, of Form 1095-A, you may not have paid your enrollment premiums for the month by the due date of the premium and the amount of the premium paid for the month is not sufficient to avoid termination of the coverage for that month under one of the three scenarios described under Enrollment premiums, earlier.” There is also a case that runs the other way: “enter the enrollment premiums for the month on the appropriate line on Form 8962, column (a), even if your Form 1095-A shows -0- as the enrollment premium for the month.” That sentence applies “If the enrollment premiums for the month are paid by the due date of your return”. The full passage is in the Form 8962 instructions.

How column A feeds Form 8962

The form is built so each Form 1095-A column has a matching Form 8962 entry. Form 8962 line 11 is the yearly version, and its column (a) caption is “Annual enrollment premiums”. The instruction is “Enter the annual enrollment premiums from Form 1095-A, line 33, column A.” With several forms: “If you have more than one Form 1095-A, add the amounts together and enter the total on Form 8962, line 11, column (a).” Its closing sentence is “This amount is the total of your enrollment premiums for the year, including the portion paid by APTC.”

When you use the monthly lines, the instruction is “Enter on lines 12 through 23, column (a), the amount of the monthly premiums reported on Form 1095-A, lines 21 through 32, column A, for the corresponding month.” The step that chooses between the yearly and monthly versions is on the Form 1095-A line 33 page.

Where this fits on the return

Form 8962 goes with your return: “you must file Form 8962 and attach it to your tax return”. The return is Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR. For the subsidy mechanics behind these columns, the ACA subsidy calculator page and the ACA affordability percentage 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

  • Treating column A as what you paid out of pocket. The instructions say it includes “premiums that were paid through advance payments of the premium tax credit.”
  • Reading every -0- as a clerical error. The filer instructions say “For other months where the monthly premiums were not fully paid, enter a -0- for that month.” and Form 8962 has entry rules for those months.
  • Entering the full-year total when dental premiums sit on a different form. The filer instructions say to “include the portion of the premium for pediatric dental coverage in the amount in column A on only one Form 1095-A.”

Related: ACA subsidy calculator, ACA affordability percentage 2026, Form 1040, and Form 1040-SR.

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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