What changed for 2026
Until 2025, the excess advance credit you paid back with your return was limited by Form 8962 lines 28 and 29: the less you earned, the smaller the most you could owe. For 2026 those lines are “Reserved for future use” on the draft form, and line 27 goes straight to Schedule 2. Whatever the Marketplace paid above the credit your real income allows comes back in full, at every income level.
The example on this page
A married couple with one child in Texas, filing jointly, had Marketplace coverage all year. The benchmark plan cost $18,000, their own plan $16,800, and the Marketplace paid $14,400 in advance on a lower income estimate. Their 2026 income came in at $70,000, which is 262% of the $26,650 poverty line for three. That puts the applicable figure at 0.0880, so the law expects them to pay $6,160, and the credit they’re allowed is $18,000 − $6,160 = $11,840. They repay $14,400 − $11,840 = $2,560. Under the 2025 rules their limit at 262% would have been $1,950, so the change costs them $610.
Reading your own result
Change the household, income and Form 1095-A amounts above. The table under the calculator highlights the 2025 tier your income falls in and says how much the old cap would have saved; “Why you owe” names the household income at which nothing would have been repaid, which is a useful target for your 2027 estimate. Over 400% of the poverty line there was no limit in 2025 either, so for those incomes nothing changed.
If you owe more than expected
Check the inputs first: column B of Form 1095-A (the benchmark premium) is wrong surprisingly often, especially after a move or a change in your household that the Marketplace didn’t hear about. The HealthCare.gov tax tool gives the right figure. Then make sure household income includes only dependents who had to file a return of their own.