I have $0 income last year, and was on a Healthcare.gov Health insurance plan, which cost me of $4k. No credits at the time of enrollment. Qualify for tax credit/refund?

[dsujkows]

I had $0 income last year,  but paid $4086 for Obama care in preimums.  Is this not a tax credit for the amount over $300?

[TaxGuyBill]

No, if your income was $0 and you did not receive any Advance credits (column C of your 1095-A), you do not qualify for the Premium Tax Credit.

[Coleen3]

Below is an explanation of the PTC and how to qualify.

The premium tax credit – also known as PTC – is a refundable credit that helps eligible individuals and families cover the premiums for their health insurance purchased through the Health Insurance Marketplace. To get this credit, you must meet certain requirements and file a tax return.

Who Qualifies

You are eligible for the premium tax credit if you meet all of the following requirements. You:

• Have household income that falls within a certain range.
• Do not file a tax return using the filing status of Married Filing Separately
  • There is an exception to this rule that allows certain victims of domestic abuse and spousal abandonment to claim the credit using Married Filing Separately; for more information, see the Premium Tax Credit questions and answers.
• Cannot be claimed as a dependent by another person
• Meet these additional requirements: In the same month, you or a family member:
  • Have health insurance coverage through a Health Insurance Marketplace
  • Are not able to get affordable coverage through an eligible employer-sponsored plan that provides minimum value.
  • Are not eligible for coverage through a government program, like Medicaid, Medicare, CHIP or TRICARE.
  • Pay the share of premiums not covered by advance credit payments.

For more information about these eligibility requirements see Eligibility for the Premium Tax Credit.

When you enroll, the Marketplace will determine if you are eligible for advance payments of the premium tax credit, also called advance credit payments.  Advance credit payments are amounts paid to your insurance company on your behalf to lower the out-of-pocket cost for your health insurance premiums.  

For more information about the Premium Tax Credit, see our Questions and Answers and other guidance.

Premium Tax Credit Tool
Use our interactive premium tax credit tool to see if you qualify.
 

[MM33]

I’m in the same boat, so what DO we qualify for? Wouldn’t make sense for someone with less income to not receive any benefit/credit.

At least this year we understood things better and won’t run into the same problem. We paid almost $10k last year because we figured it would only be a month or two until we no longer needed coverage. Turns out we stayed on it all year (unemployed), without advance payments and would like to take the PTC but our income is below $12k. What options do we have?

[LZ_PDX]

Whether or not you qualify for tax credits when you have $0 income depends on the state that you live in and if you are a citizen (often free Medicaid) or have another immigration status (often a paid plan with tax credits on Healthcare.gov).

The easiest thing would be to talk to a local insurance agent or certified application assister. Both are legally not allowed to charge you for anything and both have a ton of training and can help your unique situation. As we know, health insurance is very complex so there are a lot of variables to answering your question.

Possible fixes:

1. on Healthcare.gov, check the YES box to answer more questions to see if you qualify for financial help.

2. apply for Medicaid. If you qualify, great. If not, input the denial date in the Healthcare.gov question "have your been denied Medicaid since [date]". 

3. Declare your unemployment income (UI) on the Healthcare.gov application. if you are getting paid UI, that is taxable (both state and the temporary federal UI).  Make sure that you don't over declare the amount. You can typically get UI for up to 26 weeks but due to the COVID pandemic it's been extended by 13 weeks--39 weeks total. HC.gov will multiply the weekly amount you declare by 52 weeks so when the total projected income is estimated in your account, (i.e. Do you think you will earn $*** this year?) say no, and input the amount you will earn from state UI x up to 39 weeks, plus federal stimulus x up to 13 weeks. 

Easiest to talk to talk to a local insurance agent or certified application assister.