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Premium Tax Credit Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction Adjustment
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Based on your entries in a return, you may be prompted to enter an amount for a self-employed health insurance deduction adjustment. This entry is necessary due to the calculations detailed on pages 56-72 of IRS Publication 974, Premium Tax Credit (PTC). The actual calculation for the self-employed health insurance deduction adjustment is automatically done by the program. The IRS instructions, including the worksheets, are also found in IRS Publication 974 for reference. 

It is common for Worksheets W and X to be used in the calculation and then the Iterative Calculation Method to be utilized (including the calculations in the Step 3 and Step 5 worksheets). As explained in the instructions for Step 6 (page 63 of Pub 974), you must repeat Steps 4 and 5 until the changes in both the self-employed health insurance deduction and the total PTC between the steps are less than $1.00. This involves multiple loops in the worksheet calculations to arrive at the final deduction adjustment and is the reason the user must enter the amount. The calculations done in the program are all according to the IRS instructions.

You are prompted to enter the self-employed health insurance deduction adjustment on a screen in the Federal Q&A Interview when completing the Premium Tax Credit section (see the navigation steps to that screen below). In the event you do not utilize the Q&A Interview, an Alert is generated to prompt you to make the entry before filing the return.

To enter or review the information on the screen titled Health Insurance - PTC - Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction Adjustment:

  1. From within your TaxAct return (Online or Desktop), click Federal. On smaller devices, click the menu icon in the upper left-hand corner, then select Federal
  2. Click Health Insurance in the Federal Quick Q&A Topics menu to expand the category
  3. Click Premium tax credit
  4. Click Continue until you reach the screen titled Health Insurance - PTC - Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction Adjustment (this screen should be immediately after the screen titled Health Insurance - PTC - Summary, and if you do see this screen that indicates that entries have not been made in the return to require this adjustment)
  5. Enter the amount indicated on the screen in the field Adjustment for the premium tax credit:

To view the worksheets that perform the calculations, follow these steps:

Online Navigation Instructions
  1. From within your TaxAct Online return, click Print Center in the left column.
  2. Click Custom
  3. Click the checkbox to the left of the item in the bottom section Federal Form 8962 - [taxpayer name]. You may need to scroll down in the section to locate the item.
  4. Click Print and then click the PDF link. Click the printer icon or the save icon (available when you hover your mouse over the bottom of the PDF form) to print or save the PDF copy.

Note: If you see a message indicating you have not paid your return fees, click the View/Pay link, which will direct you through the Paper Filing steps. Continue through the screens until you have processed the payment for your product fees and then repeat the steps to print. 

Desktop Navigation Instructions
  1. Start your TaxAct Desktop program
  2. Click the Forms button in the top left corner
  3. Expand the Federal folder and then expand the Worksheets folder
  4. Scroll down (almost to the bottom of the list) and click '+' next to the Form - Form 8962 - Premium Tax Credit and Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction Totals
  5. Double click the form listed under that folder and click the pink Printer icon above the form on the right side of your screen