Paying Back Tax Credits
ObamaCare Refund Versus ObamaCare Repayment
On this page we cover the 2016 tax credit repayment limits and explain 2016 refunds for premium tax credits.
Nothing feels better than getting a tax refund or advanced tax credits, but repaying excess credits never feels good. Keep in mind, if you took too many credits then you are just repaying the money you owe. If you get a check back, you are being repaid the money you overpaid into the system.
Despite this obvious logic, I have still yet to meet a person who feels good about filing a form or writing a check for excess tax credits. You aren’t alone, and perhaps moving forward this aspect will be refined.
Anyway, here is a quick breakdown of the repayment limits for 2016 (they are unchanged from last year).
| Income % of FPL | Filing Status: Single |
Filing Status: All Other |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 200% FPL | $300 | $600 |
| At least 200% FPL but less than 300% |
$750 | $1,500 |
| At least 300% FPL but less than 400% |
$1,250 | $2,500 |
| If your year end income exceeds 400% FPL, you will have to return the total amount of Advanced Premium Tax Credits you received.If you make too little to qualify for subsidies (less 100% FPL), then you owe NOTHING. That being said, if you know you are going to price out of cost assistance, make sure to update your Marketplace account. You may become eligible for a free or low-cost Medicaid plan if your state expanded Medicaid. | ||
See our advanced tax credits repayment page for more details.
Author: Thomas DeMichele
Thomas DeMichele is the head writer and founder of ObamaCareFacts.com, FactsOnMedicare.com, and other websites. He has been in the health insurance and healthcare information field since 2012. ObamaCareFacts.com is a...
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Elysa Ferrara
I think that the actual tax credit goes to the insurance companies. In order to be the winning agent, agents quote inflated subsidies, they make their money and the taxpayer is stuck with a big tax surprise. Until insurers and even more importantly, the agents who are selling obamacare, have real skin in the game and penalties for misrepresenting and then selling at these over-inflated subsidies, this game will continue on the backs of the taxpayer. Greedy profiteering in health care always wins because the stakes are so high, whether it’s insurers taking medicaid premiums although their members cannot find a doctor to see them or doctors and hospitals inflate costs for self-pay, or obamacare recipients are surprised with a giant tax bill at the end of the year instead of the small refund they were expecting.
Mary Veenstra
That is my question, exactly. Why am I required to pay back money that was given to an insurance company? I never even went to see a doctor last year, yet I owe the IRS $2000? Something is definitely not right here.