The Illinois Medicaid tax form is Form 1095-B, sent each year by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) to every household that had Medicaid coverage for at least one month during the prior tax year.1Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. 1095-B IRS Form – Informational Guide It confirms which family members were covered and in which months. You do not need it to file your taxes. Keep it with your records in case the IRS ever questions your coverage.
What the Form Shows
Form 1095-B has four parts, and only two of them carry information relevant to Medicaid recipients.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1094-B and 1095-B
- Part I lists the responsible individual on the Medicaid case: name, address, and Social Security number or date of birth.
- Part II is blank. It only applies to employer-sponsored plans.
- Part III identifies HFS as the coverage provider, with the agency’s name, address, and phone number.
- Part IV lists every covered person on the case alongside a month-by-month grid. A checkmark in a given month means that person was enrolled for at least one day of that month.
Part IV is the piece worth checking carefully. If someone was added or dropped mid-year, the checkmarks should match the actual enrollment dates. That’s where mistakes usually show up.
When the Form Arrives
For the 2025 tax year, the deadline for coverage providers to get Form 1095-B to you is March 2, 2026.3Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Forms 1094-B and 1095-B That date is already extended from the original February 2 deadline, and no further extension is available.
Federal rules let providers skip automatic mailing and instead post a notice on their website explaining how to request a copy. When a provider uses that method, it must fulfill requests within 30 days or by January 31, 2026, whichever is later.3Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Forms 1094-B and 1095-B Whether HFS mails forms automatically can vary year to year, so if nothing has arrived by mid-March, check the HFS site or request a copy directly.
How to Get a Copy
If your form never shows up, gets lost, or you need a duplicate, HFS gives you two options.1Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. 1095-B IRS Form – Informational Guide
- Call the DHS Helpline at 1-800-843-6154 (TTY 1-800-447-6404). A caseworker can pull up your 1095-B and mail a replacement to whatever address you give.
- Visit your local Family Community Resource Center. A caseworker there can look up and reprint the form while you wait. The Illinois Department of Human Services office locator will point you to the nearest FCRC.
Before you call or walk in, have the responsible individual’s full name and Social Security number (or date of birth) ready. If the replacement needs to go to a different address than the one on file, say whether that change is permanent or just for this mailing.
If Something on the Form Is Wrong
Check every detail: your name, your Social Security number, the names of covered family members, and the monthly coverage grid in Part IV. If a month is checked when nobody was enrolled, or a family member is missing, contact HFS through the same helpline or FCRC. The caseworker can start a correction request.
The copy HFS files with the IRS matters more than the one you receive. If the IRS version shows different coverage months than what you report, it can trigger a notice or slow things down. Getting a correction started early avoids that.
Using It at Tax Time
Do not attach Form 1095-B to your federal return. The IRS already gets its own copy from HFS, and the agency’s instructions are to keep yours with your personal records instead of submitting it.4Internal Revenue Service. Questions and Answers About Health Care Information Forms for Individuals
If you’re ready to file and the form hasn’t arrived, file anyway. The IRS says not to wait for Form 1095-B or 1095-C before submitting your return. Enrollment letters or your ABE (Application for Benefits Eligibility) account can confirm your coverage months if you need to look them up.4Internal Revenue Service. Questions and Answers About Health Care Information Forms for Individuals
There’s no federal penalty for months you lacked coverage. The federal shared responsibility payment dropped to $0 starting in 2019 and has stayed there.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 5000A – Requirement to Maintain Minimum Essential Coverage A few states run their own individual mandates with real penalties. Illinois does not. For a Medicaid recipient in Illinois, the form is a coverage receipt and nothing more.
Don’t Confuse It With Form 1095-A
If anyone in your household bought a plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace (the exchange) at any point during the year, you’ll also get Form 1095-A, and that one is different in a way that matters.4Internal Revenue Service. Questions and Answers About Health Care Information Forms for Individuals
Form 1095-B from HFS just confirms coverage and has no effect on your tax bill. Form 1095-A, by contrast, is required to complete Form 8962 if you received advance premium tax credits through the Marketplace. Skipping that reconciliation can delay your refund or create a balance due. If you were on Illinois Medicaid the whole year and never bought Marketplace coverage, 1095-B is the only health coverage form you should receive, and it’s safe to file it away.