What this line means
The federal poverty line amount for your tax family size. Look up the amount in the Federal Poverty Line table in the Form 8962 instructions, using your family size from line 1 and the state where you live. The 48 contiguous states and D.C. use one table; Alaska and Hawaii each have their own higher amounts.
Does this apply to you?
- You are completing Form 8962 to claim or reconcile the Premium Tax Credit
- You need to determine whether your household income falls between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty line
- You live in Alaska or Hawaii and need the higher poverty line amounts for your state
Easy to overlook
Alaska and Hawaii have higher federal poverty line amounts The federal poverty guidelines are not the same everywhere. Alaska and Hawaii have separate, higher poverty line amounts because of higher living costs. A family of four in Alaska has a higher poverty line than the same family in Texas. Using the wrong table understates your poverty line, which inflates your income percentage and reduces your credit. 1 IRS Form 8962 Instructions — Line 4
The poverty line used is from the year your coverage started, not the filing year Form 8962 uses the federal poverty guidelines that were in effect at the start of the open enrollment period for your coverage year. For 2025 coverage, you use the 2024 poverty guidelines. Filers sometimes look up the current year’s guidelines and get a different number, which throws off the entire calculation. 2 IRS Publication 974 — Premium Tax Credit
Watch out for this
Using the wrong family size when looking up the poverty line. The poverty line amount on line 4 must match the tax family size on line 1. If you entered 4 on line 1 but look up the poverty line for a family of 3, every subsequent calculation is wrong — your income percentage, your contribution amount, and your credit. Double-check that the family size and poverty line row match.
Footnotes
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IRS Form 8962 Instructions, Line 4, Federal Poverty Line Tables. https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8962 ↩
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IRS Publication 974, Premium Tax Credit, Federal Poverty Line. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p974.pdf ↩