2024 Premium Tax Credit
For 2024, the Premium Tax Credit is 0% (Lowest applicable percentage) and 8.5% (Highest applicable percentage).
Effective 2024-01-01Source: Rev. Proc. 2023-29 (IRS)Verified 2026-08-29
Who it applies to
Anyone claiming the premium tax credit for a taxable year beginning in 2024 uses this table. The band is chosen by household income as a share of the Federal poverty line, and the applicable percentage is the share of household income the taxpayer is expected to put towards the benchmark plan. That expected contribution is 0% in the lowest band, so the credit covers the whole benchmark premium there, and 8.5% in the top band. Because the top band is open ended, household income above the old limit still produces a credit for this year.
What changed this year, and why
For taxable years beginning in 2024 the applicable percentage table is still the one the American Rescue Plan Act enacted, extended by the Inflation Reduction Act. Rev. Proc. 2023-29 states it and it is unchanged: 0% in the lowest household income band, rising to 8.5% in a top band with no upper income limit. Indexing of the table remains suspended, which is why the figures repeat rather than move.
Common questions
- What is the premium tax credit applicable percentage for 2024?
- For taxable years beginning in 2024 the applicable percentage table under § 36B starts at 0% in the lowest household income band and reaches 8.5% in the top band, which has no upper income limit.
- Why did the table not change for 2024?
- Because indexing is suspended. The American Rescue Plan Act put a fixed table into § 36B and the Inflation Reduction Act extended it, so the same percentages apply each year of that period instead of being adjusted for premium and income growth.
- Is there still an income cliff for the premium tax credit in 2024?
- Not under this table. Its top band has no upper income limit, so a household above the limit the indexed table used can still qualify, with an expected contribution of 8.5% of household income towards the benchmark plan.
- Where is the 2024 table published?
- In Rev. Proc. 2023-29, issued by the IRS, which provides the applicable percentage table for taxable years beginning in 2024 for the purposes of § 36B.
Who counts as an applicable taxpayer
You are considered an applicable taxpayer for the Premium Tax Credit if you meet any of three conditions: you are claiming the credit yourself, advance payments were made for someone in your tax family, or advance payments were made for someone you told the Marketplace would be in your tax family but who wasn't included by anyone. If any of these apply, you must file Form 8962 with your tax return even if your income is low enough that you normally wouldn't need to file at all. You cannot use Form 1040-SS for this purpose. The form reconciles what the government paid in advance against what you were actually entitled to receive based on your final income and family situation. If someone else enrolled a member of your tax family and received advance payments for that coverage, you still must file the form to reconcile those payments, and you need to get the Form 1095-A from whoever did the enrolling.
You must file Form 8962 with your income tax return (Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR) if any of the following apply to you. • You are taking the PTC. • APTC was paid for you or another individual in your tax family. • APTC was paid for an individual you told the Marketplace would be in your tax family and neither you nor anyone else included that individual in a tax family.
2024 Instructions for Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit (IRS)
Household income is not the same as your AGI
Household income for the Premium Tax Credit is broader than the adjusted gross income shown on your tax return. It equals the modified adjusted gross income of you and your spouse if you file jointly, plus the modified adjusted gross income of any dependents who must file a return because their income exceeds the filing threshold. Modified adjusted gross income starts with the AGI on your return and adds back certain untaxed amounts: foreign earned income, tax-exempt interest, and the non-taxable portion of social security benefits. Importantly, household income excludes the modified AGI of dependents who file only to get a refund of withheld or estimated tax. Because of these additions, your household income can be meaningfully higher than the AGI figure the IRS uses to figure your regular income tax, and that higher number is what determines whether you qualify for the credit and how large it is.
Household income. For purposes of the PTC, household income is the modified adjusted gross income (modified AGI) of you and your spouse (if filing a joint return) (see Line 2a, later) plus the modified AGI of each individual whom you claim as a dependent and who is required to file an income tax return because their income meets the income tax return filing threshold (see Line 2b, later).
2024 Instructions for Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit (IRS)
The second lowest cost silver plan sets the credit
The credit is calculated against a benchmark called the applicable silver plan premium, which is the premium for the second lowest cost silver plan available through the Marketplace in the rating area where you live, priced for your coverage family. This benchmark is not the same as the enrollment premium you actually pay for your plan, unless you happen to have chosen that exact silver plan. Form 1095-A, Part III, column B, normally reports this benchmark premium for you. However, if no advance credit was paid on your behalf, the amount in that column may be wrong, blank, or show zero, and if you had unreported changes in circumstances during the year, the reported amount may also be inaccurate. In those situations you must work out the correct benchmark premium yourself; you do not need to ask the Marketplace for a corrected form. Your monthly contribution toward premiums is then figured as a percentage of household income applied to this benchmark amount.
Applicable SLCSP premium. The applicable SLCSP premium is the second lowest cost silver plan premium offered through the Marketplace where you reside that applies to your coverage family (described earlier).
2024 Instructions for Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit (IRS)
Paying back advance credit, and the cap on it
When the advance credit paid on your behalf during the year exceeds the credit you are entitled to based on your actual income, you must repay the difference. That repayment can be capped, depending on where your household income falls as a percentage of the federal poverty line. The cap increases as income rises, with different amounts for single filers and other filing statuses. Once your income reaches 400 percent of the poverty line or higher, there is no cap at all and you must repay every dollar of excess advance credit. For married taxpayers filing separately, the caps apply separately to each spouse based on the household income shown on that spouse's return. The specific dollar limits depend on your income tier and filing status, and are provided in the instructions for the reconciliation form.
If your entry on Form 8962, line 5, is 400 or more, there is no repayment limitation. You must repay the amount shown on line 27.
2024 Instructions for Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit (IRS)
Filing separately usually disqualifies you
If you are considered married for federal income tax purposes at the end of the year, you must generally file a joint return with your spouse in order to be an applicable taxpayer and claim the Premium Tax Credit. There are two exceptions available. The first applies to married people who live apart and qualify to file as head of household or, for nonresident aliens, as single under the special rules for married persons living apart. The second applies if you are a victim of domestic abuse or spousal abandonment: you may file as married filing separately and still take the credit if you are living apart from your spouse when you file, you cannot file jointly because of the abuse or abandonment, and you check the box on Form 8962 certifying that you qualify. If neither exception applies and you file separately anyway, you are not an applicable taxpayer and cannot claim the credit.
Married taxpayers. If you are considered married for federal income tax purposes, you must file a joint return with your spouse to take the PTC unless one of the two exceptions below applies to you.
2024 Instructions for Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit (IRS)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Rev. Proc. 2023-29 (IRS)
- Lowest applicable percentage
Initial percentage Final percentage Less than 150% 0.00% 0.00%
- Highest applicable percentage
At least 400% and higher 8.50% 8.50%