About Insuring Your Health
KHN contributing columnist Michelle Andrews writes the series , which explores health care coverage and costs.
To contact Michelle with a question or comment, .
A. If you buy a health plan on the health insurance marketplace and your income is between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level (currently $11,490 to $45,960 for an individual), you may qualify for a . You can elect to take some or all of the credit up front and pay a lower premium during the year, or wait until tax time next year and receive some or all of your credit then. It’s up to you.
Some experts say it may be a good idea not to take the entire amount of the credit up front. If you end up making more money than you estimated, at tax time. (Likewise, if your income is lower than expected you could get a bigger credit.)
Eligibility for the tax credit doesn’t depend on whether or not you actually owe any income tax. “Even if your income is low enough or you don’t otherwise owe taxes, you can still get the credit,” says Jennifer Tolbert, director of state health reform at the Kaiser Family Foundation. (KHN is an editorially independent program of the foundation.)
Tax credits are only available for marketplace plans, however. If you decide to buy a plan that’s not offered there, you can’t get a subsidy to reduce your premium.