Premium Tax Credit

[Brian581]

Help - I am entering the information off of Form 1095A and once completed, the screen is telling me the Premium Tax Credit is zero. And as a result, I have to repay the entire amount received as a discount each month. I know for certain that I qualified for the tax credit because I have the documentation from the HealthCare.gov website telling me so. 

How or where does the Premium Tax Credit come from and why isn't it appearing for me?

Thanks in advance.

Brian

[Mike9241]

we can't see your return. the PTC is computed on form 8962. you may have to pay to see it. 

[MarilynG1]

Click this link for instructions on Entering a 1095-A.

When you qualified for a Premium Tax Credit through the Marketplace, you entered your income in the application.

If the total income on your tax return is higher than that amount, you may need to repay part or all of the PTC you received. This is calculated  on Form 8962.

Click this link for more info on on the Premium Tax Credit. 

[AmeliesUncle]

Have you entered all of your income?

Are you entering an amount in Column B of your 1095-A?

As was mentioned above, look at your Form 8962 in your tax return (you will need to pay first).  What is on Lines 1, 3 and 5?  Does Line 1 and 3 seem correct?

[Brian581]

Thank you - that was exactly my problem - i hit 401% and it was causing me to have to repay the entire amount.

[AmeliesUncle]

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@Brian581 wrote:

Thank you - that was exactly my problem - i hit 401% and it was causing me to have to repay the entire amount.

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You may want to check if contributing to a Traditional IRA would bring your income down to 400% or less.  In some cases that could  save A LOT of money.

[Brian581]

Holy crap you’re right - adding to my 401k just saved me almost $15k - I can’t say thank you enough!

[AmeliesUncle]

This is just one of MANY situations that doing your taxes yourself often costs you MORE money in the long run versus going to a good tax professional.  If I hadn't pointed this out to you, you may have paid $15,000 more, while a good tax professional would have certainly pointed out what to do.

I realize that some people want to try to save money by doing their own taxes rather than paying a professional to do them.  But quite often that sometime during your lifetime, you encounter a situation like this, and doing your own taxes can cost you FAR more than a lifetime's worth of paying a good tax professional.

[dmertz]

Wait, how did you "add" your 401(k) in a way that reduced your AGI?  Are you self-employed and you made contributions to a self-employed 401(k)?

If you are an employee who received a W-2, enter amounts shown in box 12 of your W-2 only in box 12 of TurboTax's W-2 form, nowhere else in TurboTax.

A 401(k) is not an IRA.  A deductible IRA contribution would be a contribution you personally make to a traditional IRA outside of any retirement contributions you make through your employer's retirement plan.