Form 8962: Premium Tax Credit and Repaying Advance Credits

“Use Form 8962 to:
Figure the amount of your Premium Tax Credit (PTC).
Reconcile it with any advance payments of the Premium Tax Credit (APTC).”

“Use Form 8962 to figure the amount of your PTC and reconcile it with APTC. You may take the PTC (and APTC may be paid) only for health insurance coverage in a qualified health plan (defined later) purchased through a Health Insurance Marketplace (Marketplace, also known as an Exchange).”

“If you or a member of your family enrolled in health insurance coverage for 2025 through a Marketplace, you should have received Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement, from the Marketplace. Form 1095-A shows the months of coverage purchased through the Marketplace and any APTC paid to your insurance company to help cover your monthly premium.”

“If APTC was paid on your behalf, or if APTC was not paid on your behalf but you wish to take the PTC, you must file Form 8962 and attach it to your tax return (Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR).”

“You must file Form 8962 with your income tax return (Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR) if any of the following apply to you.
You are taking the PTC.
APTC was paid for you or another individual in your tax family.
APTC was paid for an individual you told the Marketplace would be in your tax family and neither you nor anyone else included that individual in a tax family. See Individual you enrolled who is not included in a tax family under Lines 12 Through 23, later.”

“If any of the circumstances above apply to you, you must file an income tax return and attach Form 8962 even if you are not otherwise required to file. You must use Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.”

“You can take the PTC for 2025 if you meet the conditions under (1), (2), and (3) below.
1. For at least 1 month of the year, all of the following were true.
a. An individual in your tax family was enrolled in one or more qualified health plans offered through the Marketplace on the first day of the month.
b. That individual was not eligible for MEC for the month, other than coverage in the individual market. An individual is generally considered eligible for MEC for the month only if they were eligible for every day of the month (see Minimum essential coverage, later).
[…]
2. No one can claim you as a dependent for the year.
[…]
3. You are an applicable taxpayer for 2025. To be an applicable taxpayer, you must meet the requirements under (a) and (b) below.
a. Your household income for 2025 is at least 100% of the federal poverty line for your family size (see Line 4, later). However, having household income below 100% of the federal poverty line will not disqualify you from taking the PTC if you meet certain requirements described under Household income below 100% of the federal poverty line, later.
[…]”

“A28. Yes. If you have APTC in any amount, you must file a Form 8962, and attach it to your federal income tax return for that year. You will use Form 8962 to reconcile the difference between the APTC made on your behalf and the actual amount of the credit that you may claim on your return. This filing requirement applies whether or not you would otherwise be required to file a return.”

“Your APTC eligibility is based on the Marketplace’s estimate of the PTC you will be able to take on your tax return. If APTC was paid for you or an individual in your tax family, you must file Form 8962 to reconcile (compare) this APTC with your PTC. If the APTC is more than your PTC, you have excess APTC and you must repay the excess, subject to certain limitations. If the APTC is less than the PTC, you can get a credit for the difference, which reduces your tax payment or increases your refund.”

“Divide the amount on line 1 above by the amount on line 2 above. Do not round; instead, multiply this number by 100 (to express it as a percentage) and then drop any numbers after the decimal point.”

“Yes. The amount on line 1 above is more than 400% of the federal poverty line. Enter 401 here and on line 5 of Form 8962.”

“Applicable federal poverty line percentages. For tax year 2025, taxpayers with household income that exceeds 400% of the federal poverty line for their family size may be allowed a PTC.”

“For tax years 2021 through 2025, Congress temporarily expanded eligibility for the Premium Tax Credit by eliminating the requirement that a taxpayer’s household income may not be more than 400 percent of the federal poverty line. Under this rule, taxpayers with household income of more than 400 percent of the federal poverty line for their family size may be allowed to claim a Premium Tax Credit, if otherwise eligible (see Q5).”

“If the amount on line 5 is 150 or less, your applicable figure is 0.0000. If the amount on line 5 is 400 or more, your applicable figure is 0.0850.”

“Full-year coverage with no changes on Form 1095-A, Part III, column A or B. Check “Yes” and continue to line 11 if all of the following apply for each qualified health plan you or a member of your tax family was enrolled in for 2025. Otherwise, check “No” and continue to lines 12 through 23.”

“If line 24 is greater than line 25, subtract line 25 from line 24 and enter the result on line 26. This result is the amount of your PTC that is more than the APTC paid, your net PTC. This amount will reduce the amount of tax you must pay with your tax return or increase your refund. Also enter the amount from line 26 on Schedule 3 (Form 1040), line 9.”

“If line 25 is greater than line 24, subtract line 24 from line 25 and enter the result.”

“The excess APTC you must repay may be limited to the amounts in Table 5. Enter the appropriate amount from Table 5 on line 28. If you were married at the end of 2025 but are filing separately from your spouse, the repayment limitations shown in Table 5 apply to you and your spouse separately based on the household income reported on each return.”

“If your entry on Form 8962, line 5, is 400 or more, there is no repayment limitation. You must repay the amount shown on line 27. Leave line 28 blank and enter the amount from line 27 on line 29.”

“If you are self-employed and are claiming the self-employed health insurance deduction, see Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction and PTC in Pub. 974 for the amount to enter on line 28.”

“If APTC was paid for the coverage in a qualified health plan of an individual who was not lawfully present, the repayment limitation does not apply to APTC paid for individuals who are not lawfully present. See Individuals Not Lawfully Present in the United States Enrolled in a Qualified Health Plan in Pub. 974 for more information.”

“Enter the smaller of line 27 or line 28. If line 28 is blank, enter the amount from line 27 on line 29. Also enter the amount from Form 8962, line 29, on Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 1a.”

“A31. For tax years before 2026 (except for 2020 when excess advance payment of the Premium Tax Credit did not affect tax liability), if your advance credit payments for a year were more than your actual allowable credit for the year, a repayment cap may limit the amount of the excess advance payment of the Premium Tax Credit that you must repay. Your applicable repayment cap is based on your household income and filing status for the year and applies only if the household income you reported on your tax return is less than 400 percent of the FPL. There is no repayment cap for tax years after 2025. For tax years after 2025, you must repay the full amount by which your advance credit payments exceed your Premium Tax Credit. This amount is added to your total tax liability, which will reduce your refund or increase your balance due. See Publication 974 PDF for more information on the repayment caps.”

“A30. When you complete your tax return, you will figure your credit and compare it to the amount of your advance credit payments on Form 8962. If your actual allowable credit on your return is less than your advance credit payments, the difference (called excess advance payment of the Premium Tax Credit), subject to certain repayment caps, will be subtracted from your refund or added to your balance due. For tax years before 2026 (except for tax year 2020 when excess advance payment of the Premium Tax Credit did not affect tax liability), if your advance credit payments for a year were more than your actual allowable credit for the year, a repayment cap may limit the amount of the excess advance payment of the Premium Tax Credit you must repay.”

“Caution: DRAFT—NOT FOR FILING This is an early release draft of an IRS tax form, instructions, or publication, which the IRS is providing for your information. Do not file draft forms.”

“6 Did you enter 401% on line 5? (See instructions if you entered less than 100%.)
[…]
Yes. You are not eligible to take the PTC. If advance payment of the PTC was made, see the instructions for how to report your excess advance PTC repayment amount.”

“Excess advance payment of PTC. If line 25 is greater than line 24, subtract line 24 from line 25. Enter the difference here and on Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 1a”

“28 Reserved for future use
[…]
29 Reserved for future use”

“Allocation Situation 1—taxpayers divorced or legally separated in 2025.”

“Allocation Situation 2—taxpayers married at year end but filing separate returns.”

“Allocation Situation 3—no APTC.”

“Allocation Situation 4—other situations where a policy is shared between two tax families. Complete Part IV using the rules in this section if you need to allocate policy amounts and Allocation Situations 1 through 3 do not apply.”

“Complete Part V to elect the alternative calculation for your pre-marriage months.”

“Reporting changes in circumstances promptly will allow the Marketplace to adjust your APTC to reflect the PTC you are estimated to be able to take on your tax return. Adjusting your APTC when you re-enroll in coverage and during the year can help you avoid owing tax when you file your tax return.”

“Changes that you should report to the Marketplace include the following.
Changes in household income.
Moving to a different address.
Gaining or losing eligibility for other health care coverage.
Gaining, losing, or other changes to employment.
Birth or adoption.
Marriage or divorce.
Other changes affecting the composition of your tax family.”