Import Spreadsheet Format Guidelines for Tax Year 2022

We’ve created Excel import spreadsheet templates to help you easily upload all of your 1095-B and 1095-C, 1099, and W-2 data. These templates are identical to the official IRS forms so that you can enter the information just as you would on paper. 

General Import Spreadsheet Guidelines

• All column headers in the Excel import spreadsheets must be present when uploaded, even if data is not entered or required.
• Recipient last name and TINs must match IRS records. False matches will be returned with TIN validation errors when e-filed.
• Numeric fields pertaining to monetary information do not need to include decimal points for whole numbers (e.g. “3.00” can be entered as “3”).
• TINs can be entered with or without dashes. The information will be standardized when read into our server.
  • e.g. Both“123-45-6789” or “123456789” would both be accepted.
• Zip Codes can be entered with or without dashes for Zip+4 entries. The information will be standardized when read into our server.
  • e.g. Both “78401-1234” or “784011234” would both be accepted.
• For True/False-type fields, “true”, “yes”, or “1” are all acceptable for affirmative responses, and “false”, “no”, or “0” are all acceptable for negative responses.
• For Form 1095-C, Covered Individual Data is only required if the employee is enrolled in an employer self-funded plan. If the employee is not enrolled in an employer self-funded plan, then do not list covered individuals for this employee.

For more in-depth or specific validation errors, you can submit your data file to BoomTax and our system will detect any issues. If your data is found to have any formatting mistakes or missing information, you will be shown a message explaining the issue and how to fix it.

Select a form below to see specific required information.

1095-C | 1095-B | 1099-NEC | 1099-MISC | 1099-DIV | 1099-INT | W-2

Required Information for Form 1095-C Import Spreadsheet

The following columns for the Form 1095-C import spreadsheet require data:

Employee Data

The employee data section has blue headers in our import spreadsheet template.

• 1. Employee first name
• 1. Last name
• 2. Social security number (SSN)
• 3. Street address
• 4. City or town
• 5. State or province (Abbreviated)
• 6. Country code (US if United States)
• 6. Zip or foreign postal code
• 10. Employer contact phone number
• Plan start month

For Sections 14, 15, & 16 you can use either the ‘All 12 Months’ option if there was no change throughout the year, or the ‘Jan’ – ‘Dec’ option if there were changes throughout the year.

• 14. Offer of coverage – A code is required for every month of the year.
• 15. Employee required contribution – Do NOT complete if you use 1A, 1F, 1G, 1H, 1R, or 1S in 14, otherwise, this must be completed.
• 16. Applicable section 4980H safe harbor (highly recommended, if applicable, to reduce your tax liability)
  • Important note from the IRS: An affordability safe harbor code should not be entered on line 16 for any month that the ALE member did not offer minimum essential coverage, including an individual coverage HRA, to at least 95% of its full-time employees and their dependents (that is, any month for which the ALE member checked the “No” box on Form 1094-C, Part III, column (a)). For more information, see the instructions for Form 1094-C, Part III, column (a).

ICHRA Plan Data

The ICHRA plan data section has purple headers in our import spreadsheet template.

Important: Complete this section only if the ALE Member offers an Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA) plan (codes 1L, 1M, 1N, 1O, 1P, 1Q, 1T, or 1U) to the employee.

• Employee’s age on January 1st (of the Tax Year)
• 17. Zip Code – The ZIP code entered here is dependent upon the code used in Line 14.
  • This will be the ZIP code of the employee’s residence (code 1L, 1M, 1N, or 1T) or,
  • The ZIP code of the employee’s primary site of employment if the ALE Member uses the work location safe harbor (code 1O, 1P,  1Q, or 1U).
  • Please note: Only complete the months in which codes 1L, 1M, 1N, 1O, 1P, 1Q, 1T, or 1U were used on Line 14.

Location safe harbor for individual coverage HRAs.

For purposes of section 4980H(b), an employer may use the cost of self-only coverage for the lowest cost silver plan for the employee for self-only coverage offered through the Exchange where the employee’s primary site of employment is located for determining whether an offer of an individual coverage HRA to a full-time employee is affordable. The ZIP code for the employee’s primary site of employment is used to identify the applicable lowest cost silver plan to determine affordability.

IRS Form 1095-C Instructions, pg. 13

Covered Individuals Data

The covered individuals data section has green headers in our import spreadsheet template.

Important: Complete this section only if the ALE Member offers employer-sponsored self-insured health coverage in which the employee or other individual enrolled.

If this is the case, please list all of the covered individuals, including the employee, if they were enrolled in coverage.

• a. Covered individual first name
• a. Covered individual last name
• b. SSN
• c. DOB (if SSN is not available)
• d. Coverage
  • You can use either the ‘All 12 Months’ option if there was no change throughout the year, or the ‘Jan’ – ‘Dec’ option if there were changes throughout the year.
  • For these fields, “true”, “yes”, or “1” are all acceptable for affirmative responses, and “false”, “no”, or “0” are all acceptable for negative responses.

If there are more than one covered individuals, then they should be listed on the subsequent rows. For this, there are two options:

• Complete only the green section for other Covered Individuals and leave the rest of the row blank.
• Complete the other Covered Individual information and duplicate the employee data columns (blue and purple sections) for that row.

Download the BoomTax 1095-C Excel Template

For more information about the codes for Lines 14 and 16, please refer to our code guidance article. For more information about preparing Form 1095-C, please refer to the IRS Instructions.

Required Information for Form 1095-B Import Spreadsheet

The following columns for the Form 1095-B import spreadsheet require data:

• Part I – Responsible Individual data
  • 1. Responsible individual first name
  • 1. Last name
  • 2. Social security number*
  • 3. Date of birth (if no SSN)*
  • 4. Street address (including apartment no.)
  • 5. City or town
  • 6. State or province (Abbreviated)
  • 7. Country code (US if United States)
  • 7. Zip or foreign postal code
  • 8. Enter letter identifying Origin of Health Coverage
• Part III – Covered Individuals Data
  • a. First name of covered individual
  • a. Last name
  • b. SSN*
  • c. DOB (if SSN is not available)*
  • d. Covered all 12 Months or values for each month

If there are more than one covered individuals, then they should be listed on the subsequent rows. For this, there are two options:

• Complete only the green section for other Covered Individuals and leave the rest of the row blank.
• Complete the other Covered Individual information and duplicate the employee data columns (blue and yellow sections) for that row.

This section should only be completed by issuers or carriers of group health plans, including coverage purchased through SHOP:

• Part II – Information About Certain Employer-Sponsored Coverage
  • 10. Employer name
  • 11. Employer identification number (EIN)
  • 12. Employer street address (including room or suite no.)
  • 13. Employer city or town
  • 14. Employer state or province (Abbreviated)
  • 15. Employer country code (US if United States)

Download the BoomTax 1095-B Excel template

For more information about preparing Form 1095-B, please refer to the IRS Instructions.

*If entering data for the covered individuals’ social security number, no entry will be necessary for the date of birth or vice versa. When available, the social security number is preferable to a date of birth entry.

Required Information for Form 1099-NEC Import Spreadsheet

The following columns for the Form 1099-NEC import spreadsheet require data:

• 1. Taxpayer identification number
• 1. Type of taxpayer identification number
• 2. Name*
• 3. Street address
• 4. City or town
• 5. State or province
• 6. Country code
• 6. Zip or foreign postal code
• 7. Employer contact number
• 10. 2nd TIN notice
• 11. FATCA filing requirement

Download the BoomTax 1099-NEC Excel template

For more information about preparing Form 1099-NEC, please refer to the IRS Instructions.

*If entering an individual’s or company’s name, then it can be entered in the field ‘2. Name.’ If the individual/company has another name, such as a DBA name, then this can be entered in the field ‘2. Name2.’

Required Information for Form 1099-MISC Import Spreadsheet

The following columns for the Form 1099-MISC import spreadsheet require data:

• 1. Taxpayer identification number
• 1. Type of taxpayer identification number
• 2. Name*
• 3. Street address
• 4. City or town
• 5. State or province
• 6. Country code
• 6. Zip or foreign postal code
• 7. Employer contact number
• 10. 2nd TIN notice
• 11. FATCA filing requirement

Download the BoomTax 1099-MISC Excel template

For more information about preparing Form 1099-MISC, please refer to the IRS Instructions.

*If entering an individual’s or company’s name, then it can be entered in the field ‘2. Name.’ If the individual/company has another name, such as a DBA name, then this can be entered in the field ‘2. Name2.’

Required Information for Form 1099-DIV Import Spreadsheet

The following columns for the Form 1099-DIV import spreadsheet require data:

• 1. Taxpayer identification number
• 1. Type of taxpayer identification number
• 2. Name*
• 3. Street address
• 4. City or town
• 5. State or province
• 6. Country code
• 6. Zip or foreign code
• 7. Employer contact number
• 10. 2nd TIN notice
• 11. FATCA filing requirement

Download the BoomTax 1099-DIV Excel template

For more information about preparing Form 1099-DIV, please refer to the IRS Instructions.

*If entering an individual’s or company’s name, then it can be entered in the field ‘2. Name.’ If the individual/company has another name, such as a DBA name, then this can be entered in the field ‘2. Name2.’

Required Information for Form 1099-INT Import Spreadsheet

The following columns for the Form 1099-INT import spreadsheet require data:

• 1. Taxpayer identification number
• 1. Type of taxpayer identification number
• 2. Name*
• 3. Street address
• 4. City or town
• 5. State or province
• 6. Country code
• 6. Zip or foreign postal code
• 7. Employer contact phone number
• 11. 2nd TIN notice
• 12. FATCA filing requirement

Download the BoomTax 1099-INT Excel template

For more information about preparing Form 1099-INT, please refer to the IRS Instructions.

*If entering an individual’s or company’s name, then it can be entered in the field ‘2. Name.’ If the individual/company has another name, such as a DBA name, then this can be entered in the field ‘2. Name2.’

Required Information for Form W-2 Import Spreadsheet

The following columns for the Form W-2 import spreadsheet require data:

• a. Social security number
• e. First name
• e. Last name
• f. Street address
• f. City or town
• f. State or province
• f. Country code
• f. Zip or foreign postal code
• 1. Wages, tips and other compensation
• 2. Federal income tax withheld
• 3. Social security wages
• 4. Social security tax withheld
• 5. Medicare wages and tips

Download the BoomTax W-2 Excel template

For more information about preparing Form W-2, please refer to the IRS Instructions.

Importing Your Data

To import your Excel spreadsheet, simply drag and drop or browse for the file when prompted after creating your filing.

If your data is imported successfully, you will be taken to a review screen reflecting your filing data. If there are any errors in your import file, an error notification will detail the type of error and line numbers to help you correct the information. You will be able to edit the information in screen and re-import the data.

Need More Information?

Our BoomTax Knowledge base is available to customers 24/7.

If you still cannot locate the information you need, contact our Support Team. We’re always happy to help you!

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