Health Insurance

You can have the best of both worlds – a broker can help you enroll through the exchange, giving you personalized help and recommendations, but also allowing you to get any Obamacare subsidies for which you're eligible.

It does not cost you anything to use a broker, and most brokers who are certified by the exchange are also able to help you compare ACA-compliant off-exchange plans with the options available through the exchange.

If your income is too high for subsidies, a broker who can help you shop on and off-exchange will be an excellent resource.

It is the set amount you pay to your insurance company each month to keep your plan active.

You can choose to take the credit in advance, known as the Advance Premium Tax Credit (APTC). The government sends this money directly to your insurance company every month to lower your monthly cost

• Claim later on taxes: Instead of monthly payments, you can wait and claim the total credit amount as a lump sum when you file your federal income tax return.

• Reconciliation: If you use advance payments, you must file Tax Form 8962 at tax time to compare your estimated income with your actual earnings. If you earned more than estimated, you might have to pay back some of the credit. If you earned less, you receive the difference as a refund.

To qualify for the Premium Tax Credit, you must meet these main rules:

• Buy a health plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace.

• Have a household income that falls within federal poverty line guidelines (generally between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level, though rules can vary).

• Not be eligible for other qualifying coverage, such as affordable health insurance through a job, Medicare, Medicaid, or TRICARE.

• File a federal tax return and use the filing status "married filing jointly" if you are married

You must pay back the difference (excess advance payments) if the advance premium tax credits paid to your insurance company and were higher than the credit you actually qualified for based on your final yearly income. This happens during tax reconciliation using IRS Form 8962.

The Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate penalty was reduced to $0 as of 2019, so there is no longer a federal penalty for not having minimum essential health coverage.