PTC For Non-Citizen Spouse

[Asorsen]

Hello,

My spouse and I were recently married and are trying to understand if there is anything we can do to avoid paying back the full 3k in PTC. She received around 3k in PTC for market health insurance from March-December. She is on an O-1 visa and based on her income would be eligible for the full credit.

We got married on December 31st, which put us over the threshold and is causing us to owe back the 3k in advance payments received. We looked into the alternative calculation due to the fact that we were married on 12/31, but as far as I understand, this still requires us to use 50% of our joint income for the year, which still puts us over the threshold. I did see some details that non-citizens may not be required to pay back the full amount, but I'm struggling to find a second opinion and was hoping someone could point me in the right direction. 

Ultimately, this is quite a lot of money for us, especially while we are working to pay off a wedding. We am afraid to take this to a CPA and end up paying even more just to receive the same answer. 

Hoping someone knows a little bit more than we do. Thanks for the help!

[Mike9241]

your best source for information would be the Healthcare.gov. i could find nothing about non-citizens only being required to repay a portion.

https://www.healthcare.gov/contact-us/ 

[Asorsen]

I refound the original quote from healthcare.gov/immigrants/lawfully-present-immigrants/, which said, "If your annual income is above 400% of the FPL: you may still qualify for premium tax credits that lower your monthly premium". I've been trying to find any substantiation for this point. Similarly, the tax software I'm using for the form has a similar question related to the above, but even with it selected the values that flow through aren't giving me much hope. 

Appreciate the help!

[Asorsen]

After doing some additional research I think understand better. The statement on Healthcare.gov seems to relate to the ARP Act of 2021 and the subsequent extension by the Inflation Reduction Act. It seems as though the maximum premiums are capped at 8.5% of a family's income meaning families receiving higher PTC amounts may still qualify. Based on the PTC we received when compared against our income, this 8.5% cap still puts us over the threshold for the credit and will need to repay.