Premium tax credit

The premium tax credit (PTC) is a mechanism established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through which the United States federal government partially subsidizes the cost of private health insurance for certain lower- and middle-income individuals and families. The PTC is a refundable tax credit, and may be applied directly to the cost of insurance premiums.

The PTC is one of a host of ACA tax provisions and was first made available in 2014; it aims to make insurance affordable for lower- and middle-income U.S. residents who do not receive insurance through their employer and whose household income is too high to qualify for Medicaid. The PTC is only available to those who purchase insurance through the ACA-established health exchanges and meet the law's household income eligibility requirements. Under the ACA, only those households earning between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level (FPL) are eligible to receive the PTC; however, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 temporarily extended PTC eligibility to anyone making more than 400% of the FPL, and the Inflation Reduction Act extended that eligibility expansion through 2025. In 2023, more than 14 million people received the premium tax credit.