Question about 1095-A (healthcare) and filing jointly

Yes, your wife's income is being taken into account.  When you Premium Tax Credit is calculated it is based on the Household Income.  If you were to file separately your Household Income would not change.

Thank you for the fast response!

We got married November last year. The healthcare premium only applied to me. My wife had insurance through her work.

How do I keep the premium I was given? Or does getting married at any time in 2019 mean I automatically lose the premium because legally our incomes have to be combined (wither filing jointly or seperately)? 

Yes, it does not matter when the additional income was added to the household income.  The income is not prorated over the entire year.  It is the total income at the end of the year.  If the income was received on December 31 it is treated the same as if it were evenly received throughout the year.

Thanks again!

So just to confirm, the way is showing on my return is correct (removing all my premium for 2019) and there is nothing else I can do about that? Just want to make sure I'm not leaving money on the table.

No, you have done it correctly.

Hello again.

I was recently told that since I was married in 2019, I could use the "alternative calculation" and enter the date of marriage. Is this true? If so, what is this and how do I do it and it will it save me this money since I am the only one who had a marketplace healthcare plan?

Thank you 

Yes, there is an Alternative Calculation for Year of Marriage,  that may reduce the amount of  Advanced Premium Tax Credit APTC that may have to be repaid.

To be eligible to make the election, either 

• Household income in the new tax family was in excess of 400% of the poverty line, and
• The taxpayer and spouse were unmarried at the beginning of the year, were married at the end of the year, and are filing a joint return, and
• Someone in the tax family was enrolled in a qualifying health plan before the taxpayer and spouse's first full calendar month of marriage and received APTC
  -or-
• Household income is 400% of the poverty line or less, and
• More APTC was paid during the year than should have been paid, as calculated in Worksheet 3 found in the Form 8962 instructions.

We were married at the end of the year. Does that mean we are eligible? If so, how and where do I do an "alternative calculation"? I can't find it anywhere

This link Premium Tax Credit (PTC) Pub 974 starting on page 37 has steps to determine your alternative calculation of your Advanced Premium Tax Credit.

Thanks for the link for the IRS documentation for alternative calculation of year of marriage. I have a similar situation to above. Is there a way that this is guided thru in Turbo Tax?

TurboTax does not provide for the alternative calculation in the online version of the program. However, if you use the desktop version of TurboTax, you can do the calculation manually and enter the corrected numbers on your tax return.

>2020 " TurboTax does not provide for the alternative calculation in the online version of the program. However, if you use the desktop version of TurboTax, you can do the calculation manually and enter the corrected numbers on your tax return."

What about 4 years later, does it provide now in 2024?

It does.  After you enter your 1095-A the system will ask if you got married this year.  Check 'Yes' and it will generate part V of the 8962.

@user22342342name 

To follow up on this, I got married in Dec 2024, filing jointly for 2024. My spouse received ~$4700 advance payment according to her 1095-A. When I add this information, the full amount is reflected as "federal tax due". When I check "yes" for married this year and select "Dec" for month, it only removes ~$300 due (meaning I still have to pay back ~$4400). Is this accurate? I feel like we should only be dinged for the months we were married (i.e., only Dec). Thanks for the help.

Without seeing all the numbers, it is possible that even without being married that they would have to pay all of it back except $300.  You can look at form 8962 to get an idea of why it is being paid back and the difference was only $300. 

The premium tax credit is based on your income and family size compared to the Federal Poverty Level. For one person the poverty line is $15,060 for 2024.  For 2 people it is $20,440.  If you look at line 7 of your form 8962, you will see a percentage there.  You can use that percentage and compare it to this table.  

Hi there, I'm desperate and in need of help with this situation.  My situation is a bit more complicated as I married my husband in December 2024 on a K1 visa and am now having to report his income that was made last year in his home country.  We are married filing jointly. I want to verify that TurboTax will allow for A) Form 1116 in order to get a tax credit on the tax he already paid on his income in Jersey (his country, a small island between France and UK). I was initially told to use form 2555 but since he moved here in September, it said I didn't qualify for form 2555 because he didn't pass the physical presence test (?). And, B) I need to verify that if I use Turbo Tax Deluxe, will it guide me through with the form 8962 and helping me with the alternative calculations for year of marriage. I have used 4 other tax programs, all of which have failed in the ACA alternative calculations - 2 of the 4 let me input the info and "allocate", however, the program is failing to calculate the proper repayment. According to government guidelines, my FPL is approximately 270% and I should only be repaying $1,000. However, they're still stating that I owe $1,900 and not taking the FPL into consideration.  This is after supposedly allocating the amounts for just myself over 11 months out of the year. 

I have missed the tax deadline due to these issues and I am truly panicking. Any advice would be really appreciated. 

A) Yes, TurboTax Deluxe does handle form 1116

B) Yes, you can allocate in TurboTax by selecting that you got married during the year.  Your repayment is NOT limited to $1,000 since you are married filing jointly.  If your FPL is 270%, it is limited to $1,900.  The alternative calculation is based on your filing status, not your status for the rest of the year 

You may want to consider using the download version so you can see the forms directly and the calculations.  You cannot do that in the online version, but if you have already gone through 4 programs, it may be helpful for you to see and be able to click on data source and explanations directly on the forms.  You would still ENTER the information in the interview mode but then you can switch to see the forms. 

Vanessa, I did purchase the downloadable version of TurboTax Deluxe and it saved me! After attempting to do my complex taxes with 4 other programs - 1 of which was another paid for/downloadable version of H&R Block, not only did TurboTax calculate everything for me so easily with regard to the ACA recalculation for marriage, it also walked me through forms 2555 and 1116 and I realized that my husband actually qualified for form 2555 which deducted ALL his foreign income from being taxed, instead of giving me a credit for the tax he already paid. The other programs treated form 2555 much differently and acted as if his 330 day physical presence had to begin on 1/1/2024. The best part is that I'm now getting a refund back and therefore won't be penalized for submitting my taxes late 😁

Thank you!