2024 2025 Cap on Paying Again ACA Well being Insurance coverage Subsidy

[Updated on August 30, 2024.]

The ACA medical health insurance subsidy, aka the premium tax credit score, is ready up such that, for essentially the most half, it doesn’t matter how a lot subsidy you obtain upfront whenever you enroll. The upfront subsidy is just an estimate. The ultimate subsidy will probably be squared up whenever you file your tax return subsequent 12 months.

In case you didn’t obtain the subsidy whenever you enrolled however your precise earnings qualifies, you get the subsidy as a tax credit score whenever you file your tax return. If the federal government paid extra subsidies than your precise earnings qualifies for, you pay again the distinction in your tax return.

Reimbursement Cap

There’s a cap on how a lot you must pay again. The cap varies relying in your Modified Adjusted Gross Earnings (MAGI) relative to the Federal Poverty Degree (FPL) and your tax submitting standing. It’s additionally adjusted for inflation annually. Listed below are the caps on paying again the subsidy for 2024 and 2025.

Supply: IRS Rev. Proc. 2023-34, writer’s calculations.

No Cap Above 400% of FPL

The compensation caps in 2024 and 2025 apply solely when your precise earnings is under 400% of FPL. There’s no compensation cap in case your precise earnings exceeds 400% of FPL — you’ll have to pay again 100% of the distinction between what you obtained and what your precise earnings qualifies for.

Giant Change in Earnings

The caps are additionally set sufficiently excessive such that the quantity you must pay again will fall under the cap except there’s a giant distinction between your precise earnings and your estimated earnings on the time of enrollment.

For instance, suppose you’re married submitting collectively and also you estimated your earnings can be $50,000 in 2024 whenever you enrolled. Suppose by the point you file your tax return, your earnings seems to be $60,000. As a result of your earnings is $10,000 larger than you initially estimated, you qualify for a decrease subsidy now. You may be required to pay again the $1,596 distinction. The cap doesn’t actually assist you to as a result of this $1,596 distinction is effectively below the $3,150 compensation cap.

As well as, since you’re required to inform the healthcare market of your earnings adjustments throughout the 12 months in a well timed method in order that they will regulate your advance subsidy, usually the distinction between the advance subsidy you obtained and the subsidy you lastly qualify for must be effectively below the cap. The cap helps solely when your earnings will increase near the top of the 12 months to make it too late to regulate your advance subsidy.

Simpler for Singles

Nonetheless, a late earnings change can occur, and the change might be giant sufficient to make the distinction within the medical health insurance subsidy larger than the compensation cap. That is true particularly whenever you’re single with a decrease compensation cap.

For instance, suppose you’re single and also you estimated your earnings can be $30,000 in 2024 whenever you enrolled. Suppose in December 2024 you resolve to transform $20,000 from a Conventional IRA to a Roth IRA. This pushes your earnings to $50,000. The additional $20,000 earnings lowers your medical health insurance subsidy by $2,866, however as a result of your compensation cap is $1,575, you solely have to pay again $1,575. You get to maintain the opposite $1,291. On this case, you’re higher off asking for the subsidy upfront throughout enrollment. In case you solely wait till you file your tax return, you gained’t profit from the compensation cap.

Backside line: You must attempt to estimate your earnings conservatively and qualify for as a lot subsidy as you’ll be able to upfront whenever you enroll. Possibly it gained’t assist. Possibly it would.