Hello!

My mom received premium assistance in California (Obamacare) for 4 months to help pay for her insurance premiums when she didn't have insurance. She then became covered by her work, and now the IRS says she owes back $1500 of premium assistance (discount) that she received. They don't say why exactly, but it says that she basically doesn't qualify anymore, likely because she earned too much income (not true, she earned almost exactly what she stated she would when first applying). Can anyone tell me if they've encountered a problem like this before? She's married filing separately (my parents aren't together) and over 65 (but not retired). Thank you!

My mom received premium assistance in California (Obamacare) for 4 months to help pay for her insurance premiums when she didn't have insurance. She then became covered by her work, and now the IRS says she owes back $1500 of premium assistance (discount) that she received.==========>>Basically, the amount of the premium assistance is based on your estimated income and the amount of your health insurance premiums. If you estimate it will be below 133% , I guess, or 400% of the federal poverty level for a family your size, you will be eligible to receive a subsidy to help pay your monthly insurance premiums. However, aslongas you underestimate your 2014 income, then, since you already benefited from premium assistance payments, you’ll have to pay them back to the IRS when you file your 2014 income taxes. The amount you’ll have to pay back depends on your 2014 family income. If your 2014 income is below133% I guess or 400% of the federal poverty level, there is a cap on the amount you’ll have to pay back, even if you received more in assistance than the amount of the cap. However, at higher income levels, you’ll have to pay back the entire amount you received, which could be a lot.For example, your marketplace is going to calculate your subsidy based on your predicted income, MAGI, for 2014 . So , you may take all, part, or none of the subsidy upfront to apply toward your monthly premium. Any subsidy you don’t take upfront will be refunded to you on your 2014 tax return.
So, when you fill out your application, you need to give your honest best guess of 2014 income. Ideally it will be pretty close to the income you reported on your 2012 tax return, which the marketplace will be able to see, or even higher. If it’s more than 10% lower, you’ll be asked for documentation to verify that. But when your 2014 MAGI ends up being higher than you projected, you need to pay back part or all of the excess subsidy you received. As said previously, your repayment liability is limited if your income remains under 133% or 400 % of the Federal Poverty Level, which is the maximum you can make and be entitled to any subsidy at all.



They don't say why exactly, but it says that she basically doesn't qualify anymore, likely because she earned too much income (not true, she earned almost exactly what she stated she would when first applying). Can anyone tell me if they've encountered a problem like this before? She's married filing separately (my parents aren't together) and over 65 (but not retired=========>>>Well frankly I have no idea if she earned too much. income Basically, as said, But if you earn more than 400 %, you’ll have to pay the whole subsidy back; you may contact a health insurance expert for professional help; https://obamacare.net/contact-us/