Was Single in 2015, Married in September 2016, Spouse had ACA with Tax Credit. Taxes are showing we owe all of the money back, but we did not get married until Sep

[ChristinaS · Accepted solution]

You can adjust the Premium Tax Credit calculation to reflect your marriage during the year. Unless you file separate returns, however, your income will be an element of the PTC calculation. The Alternative calculation for year of marriage provision does not permit for your spouse's pre-marriage income to "stand alone" on a joint return. The Alternative Calculation applies a preset method. The calculation uses your joint income, and does not account for your spouse's specific income prior to marriage.

If your joint income is close to or above $85/$90k or more, an Advanced Credit for more than half the year is likely to cause a large payback. 

Turbo Tax does calculate the Premium Tax Credit when you got married during the year. Follow these steps:

1. Go to Health Insurance tab and work through to enter his 1095-A
2. After entering his 1095-A, you see the screen "Do any of these situations apply?" 
3. Click Got Married in 2016 and select September
4. If the Alternative can make a difference, Turbo Tax will apply that method.

The detailed source of this calculation starts on page 34:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p974.pdf

I would run separate and joint returns to see the difference. Filing jointly is often better, but a larger Advance Premium Tax Credit can make a big difference.