Clawback Check

Tax year 2026 · Premium tax credit

Had Marketplace coverage in 2026? You may need to repay your entire subsidy.

Beginning with 2026 tax returns, there is no longer a limit on how much excess premium tax credit (the Obamacare subsidy) you repay. Clawback Check estimates what you may owe and shows how to reduce it.

  1. 1Enter your coverage and income, or upload Form 1095-A. About three minutes.
  2. 2Review your estimate of any amount you may repay. Free.
  3. 3Reduce it with a personalized Fix Plan ($19), if you owe.
Start your free estimate
No repayment capPreviously, households under 400% of the poverty line repaid at most $3,250.
$62,600The 2026 eligibility limit for a one-person household in the 48 contiguous states (400% of the poverty line). Above it, no subsidy is allowed.
April 15, 2027Deadline for HSA and IRA contributions that can lower your 2026 income.

Estimate your repayment

Your information stays in your browser and is never sent to us.

Have Form 1095-A? Upload the PDF or a photo to fill in your coverage details automatically. The file is read on your device and is never uploaded.
Sample data shown: Dana, 52, a self-employed photographer in Texas.
Step 1Household

You, your spouse if filing jointly, and anyone you claim.

If you lived in Alaska or Hawaii for part of 2026, or you and your spouse lived in different states, pick the higher one.

Step 22026 Marketplace coverage

Before any subsidy. Until your 1095-A arrives, use your plan's full monthly price.

Paid straight to your insurer; your Marketplace account may call it APTC. Enter 0 if none. More than one 1095-A? Add up column C.

Have you received Form 1095-A? Marketplaces send it in late January or early February.
Step 32026 income (estimates are fine)

Gig, freelance or business income minus expenses (Schedule C).

W-2 box 1. It's already reduced by pre-tax 401(k) and pre-tax payroll HSA deposits.

Interest, dividends, gains, unemployment, retirement withdrawals.

SSA-1099 box 5, before Medicare premiums come out. Include back pay received in 2026, not SSI. Both spouses if filing jointly.

More income details

Money you deposited yourself, not shown in W-2 box 12, code W.

W-2 box 13 "Retirement plan" checked, or money put in a SEP-IRA, SIMPLE IRA or solo 401(k) during 2026 (even for 2025). This can limit an IRA deduction.

Their modified AGI. It counts toward household income.

For example, student loan interest. Don't include the new Schedule 1-A deductions (tips, overtime, car loan interest, seniors); they don't lower this income.

From Form 2555, if any.

Tools for Marketplace enrollees with variable income

Built for freelancers, gig workers, small-business owners, and early retirees.

Free2026 Repayment EstimateEstimate whether you will repay any of your 2026 subsidy, and how much. $19 one timeClawback Fix PlanSpecific steps to reduce your 2026 repayment before April 15, 2027. Free2027 Income PlannerChoose a 2027 income estimate that limits your risk of repayment. 7 days free, then $5/moIncome WatchTrack monthly income and know when to update your Marketplace application.

Free · 2027 open enrollment

Enrolling for 2027? Choose an income estimate you can rely on.

On HealthCare.gov, open enrollment runs through January 15, 2027 (pick a plan by December 15 for coverage that starts January 1). Some states have their own dates. The Marketplace asks you to estimate your 2027 income. If you underestimate, you may have to repay the excess subsidy when you file in 2028, with no cap.

Roughly your adjusted gross income: wages plus business profit, minus things like HSA and traditional IRA deposits.

If your income varies, enter what you would earn in a strong year.

Listed as your "premium tax credit" or "savings" when you compare plans. Used to estimate any repayment.

Income Watch · 7 days free, then $5/month

Track your income throughout the year.

Record your income each month. Income Watch shows whether you are on track to repay any subsidy, how much, and what income to report to the Marketplace to avoid it. Your data stays on this device.

Free for 7 days.

Then $5 a month (plus tax where it applies) until you cancel. Cancel anytime from this page and you won't be charged again.

The "premium tax credit" paid to your insurer each month.

Before the subsidy. Makes the estimate more exact for cheap plans.

What you earned each month

Household income for the month after business expenses, roughly what counts toward adjusted gross income. Leave months that haven't happened blank.

Leave blank and we'll assume you keep earning your monthly average.

What changed, in plain English

When you sign up for a Marketplace plan, you guess your income for the year. The government sends a monthly subsidy to your insurer based on that guess. At tax time, Form 8962 compares the guess with what you really earned.

If you earned more, you got too much subsidy and pay the extra back. Until now, people under 400% of the poverty line had a cap on that payback. The 2025 tax law (Public Law 119-21) removed the cap starting with 2026 tax returns, the ones filed in 2027, so you now repay all of the extra.

The bigger subsidies of 2021 to 2025 also ended, and as of November 2026 Congress hasn't extended them. If your 2026 income lands above 400% of the poverty line, you qualify for no subsidy at all, and generally everything paid to your insurer comes back to you as a tax bill.

Who is most likely to get hit?

Anyone whose income came in higher than they told the Marketplace: freelancers and gig workers with a good year, people who picked up a job mid-year, and early retirees who sold investments or took retirement withdrawals.

Where do I find these numbers?

Your Marketplace mails or posts Form 1095-A early in 2027 (by February 1; mailed copies can take until mid-February). Column A is your monthly premium, column B is the benchmark plan, and column C is the subsidy paid. With more than one 1095-A, add up columns A and C but use column B from only one form. Until then, your Marketplace account shows your premium, your subsidy, and the income you estimated.

Can I really lower my 2026 income now?

Some of it. Deposits into a traditional IRA or an HSA made by April 15, 2027 can count for 2026, and self-employed people can fund a SEP-IRA up to their filing deadline. Each deductible dollar lowers the income used for this credit. With the self-employed health deduction the drop can be smaller, and an IRA deposit may not be deductible if you had a retirement plan at work. We account for both.

Why do you ask if I'm self-employed?

Self-employed people can deduct premiums they pay themselves for months they couldn't join a subsidized job-based plan (including a spouse's), and that lowers the income used for this credit. It's circular, because the deduction depends on the credit, so we solve for both. Skipping it can overstate what you owe by thousands.

What doesn't this cover?
  • Months when you could get affordable job-based coverage may not qualify for the credit at all.
  • Mid-year plan changes or more than one 1095-A: results are approximate.
  • If both spouses are self-employed, enter the combined profit; the result is approximate.
  • State subsidies: enter only the federal subsidy from 1095-A column C.
  • Coverage started through the special enrollment period for low expected income may not qualify for the credit in 2026.
  • The year you got married can use a special calculation that may lower your payback.
Is this tax advice?

No. It's an estimate built on the published IRS rules and the draft 2026 Form 8962 instructions. Your tax return decides the real number, and a tax professional can confirm it before you make big moves.

See your estimate