HCTC: Information for Monthly Participants and Yearly Filers
If you are eligible for the HCTC and have a qualified health plan, you can receive the HCTC in one of two ways:
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Monthly - through the monthly HCTC program in which you submit payments for your health insurance premium to the HCTC Program. The HCTC Program then adds the tax credit and sends the payment to your health plan; or,
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Yearly - through the Yearly HCTC by filing the Form 8885 with your federal income tax return and claiming only those premiums you paid directly to your qualified health plan.
Claiming Additional Payments on Your Federal Income Tax Return
All monthly HCTC participants will receive the Form 1099-H in the mail. Form 1099-H shows the amount of the tax credit that monthly participants received during the tax year through the monthly HCTC program. It does not reflect your payments made to the HCTC Program ("U.S. Treasury - HCTC") that were forwarded to health plans by the HCTC program.
If you were eligible for the HCTC and made additional payments directly to your qualified health plan that are not reflected on Form 1099-H, you can receive the Yearly HCTC by claiming those payments on Form 8885. This can include payments you made during months when the HCTC Program also made payments to your health plan, as long as your direct payments were for additional amounts - for example, a premium increase or a separate coverage month - that were not already paid for you in advance. However, any HCTC amount you receive through the monthly HCTC program cannot be claimed on your federal income tax return as it means you would receive the credit twice.
Example
You became eligible for the HCTC on June 10, 2011. You enrolled in a state-qualified health plan and also registered for the Monthly HCTC in June. You paid your health plan directly for the first two months of your coverage and your monthly premium was $1000. You received your first HCTC invoice for $350 due at the end of July (for your August health insurance coverage) and began paying the HCTC program at that time. You can claim the Yearly HCTC for the two payments you made directly to your health plan for June and July coverage. You may not claim the amount you paid to the HCTC program in July for August coverage. The total amount you paid directly to your health plan was $2000. Therefore, you may claim 72.5% of each of the payments you made to your health plan, or in this case, a total of $1450.
For important information on how to claim the Yearly HCTC for the 2011 tax year, visit the HCTC: Information for Yearly Filers page.
Return to the Information for Monthly Participants page.
Return to the HCTC Program home page.
Go to the HCTC Quick References page to view a glossary of terms, FAQs and additional resources.
