If you purchased your health care through the Health Insurance Marketplace, you may have been eligible to receive a tax credit with can assist with the cost of your monthly premiums. This tax credit can be applied up front to help lower the cost of your premiums, in the form of an advance payment. In the Marketplace, the tax credit is estimated based off the income and household information you supply.
If you chose to use the tax credit as an advance payment of your premiums, you’ll have some calculations to do at tax time. You’ll have to reconcile the amount of the credit that you received with the actual amount you are eligible to receive by using Form 8963, Premium Tax Credit. You will have to use your actual income to determine the amount you should have received as an advance. If you received more of a credit than your income deems you eligible for, you will have to repay the excess you received. There are limitations on the amount you will be required to pay back.
You should expect to receive Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement by the beginning of February if you used the marketplace to purchase insurance. You’ll use this form to complete your tax return, as it includes the name of your insurer, the date you are insured, premium amounts, and the amount of the credit you received, if you opted to use it. You’ll also use this form to complete the premium tax credit section of your tax return.
