Premium Tax Credits
Tax credits to help you pay for some, or all, of your monthly premiums for health insurance. The less you make, the more credits you can get.
HealthCare.gov will tell you how much financial help your household can get every month to help you pay for health insurance in your Eligibility Determination, based on your income. You must report all changes in income to the Marketplace. If you make more than you reported, you may have to pay back some, or all of the financial help you received.
You must choose how you would like to get the financial help (tax credits). Tax credit refunds are separate from other tax refunds. You will lose your financial help (premium tax credits) if you don’t file your taxes.
Understanding Tax Credits:
You qualify for premium tax credits if you meet all of these requirements:
You buy insurance from the Health Insurance Marketplace (HealthCare.gov)
You do not get affordable health insurance from your job. (Affordable is considered 9.96% or less of the total family income.)
You DO NOT qualify for BadgerCare Plus, or other Medicaid programs.
You cannot be claimed as a dependent by another person. (Married couples must file a joint tax return.)
You have a low to moderate household income (Check the chart)
| Household Size: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly Income Estimate: | $15,960 - $63,840 | $21,640 - $86,556 | $27,320 - $109,284 | $33,000 - $132,000 | $38,680 - $154,716 |
Qualifying for tax credits:
Example:
Conrad and Seniya can get $575 dollars of tax credits every month to help them pay for health insurance. This is a total of $6,900 for the year. Conrad and Seniya must decide how much of their $6,900 tax credit to use now, and how much they will get as a tax refund at the end of the year. The amount they use now will be split between the 12 months.
Click the drop-down options below to learn about each of Conrad and Seniya’s options.
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If Conrad and Seniya use all of their tax credits, the Marketplace will pay tax credits directly to their insurance company every month.
This lowers their monthly premium payments to the lowest possible cost.
Example:
Monthly premium: $700
Tax Credit: -$575
Final monthly cost: $125
Premium tax credit refund at the end of the year: $0
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Conrad and Seniya can pick how much of the credits they want the Marketplace to pay to the insurance company.
The more tax credits they use, the lower their premium payments will be. Using less might be a good option if you have an income that changes during the year.
Example:
Monthly premium: $700
Tax Credit: -$300
Final monthly cost: $400
Premium tax credit refund at the end of the year: $3,300
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Conrad and Seniya can pay the full cost of the monthly premium for their health insurance.
Conrad and Seniya’s tax credit will be available as a tax refund at the end of the year if they have a plan through the Marketplace.
Example:
Monthly premium: $700
Tax Credit: $0
Final monthly cost: $700
Premium tax credit refund at the end of the year: $6,900
You can download a printable PDF of this information
Click the image to download a copy in English and Spanish.