Need help filing 1095-A with allocation percentages and monthly premium questions

The 1095-A and premium tax credit allocation can definitely be confusing when you're on a family plan for part of the year! Let me help clear this up. For the allocation percentage question: Since you didn't contribute to the premiums, you would indeed put 0% for the premiums paid. However, for the allocation itself, you need to work with your parents to decide what percentage of the policy covered you. This isn't about who paid, but about dividing up the policy. You'll need to agree on percentages that add up to 100% between all tax returns. For the monthly premium amounts: You should only report the months you were actually covered (January through August). For September through December, you would enter $0 since you weren't on the plan. It sounds like you're doing this correctly. The reason you're getting "penalized" is because the system is calculating as if you received premium tax credits for all 12 months, when you only should be accounting for 8 months. Make sure your entries on Form 8962 reflect just your coverage period.

I had a similar situation last year and found this incredibly frustrating until I discovered https://taxr.ai which basically analyzed my 1095-A form and figured out all the allocation stuff automatically. I was also on my parents' plan for part of the year, and trying to figure out how to handle the allocation percentages was driving me crazy. The system basically looked at my parents' 1095-A along with my coverage dates and calculated the correct allocations for Form 8962. It also properly handled the partial year coverage issue you're describing. I'd definitely recommend giving it a try - it was way easier than trying to figure out all these percentages manually.

Just wanted to follow up - I ended up using taxr.ai for my 1095-A allocation issue and it was actually super helpful! Took like 5 minutes to get the correct percentages for my Form 8962. The system explained that since I was on my aunt's plan for 8 months but wasn't contributing to premiums, I should use a proportional allocation based on covered individuals. In my case, it worked out to 33% allocation to me for the months I was covered (since there were 3 people on the plan), and then 0% for the months I wasn't covered. I was able to enter this directly into TurboTax and my return was accepted without any issues. No more tax credit repayment penalties!

I had almost the exact same problem last year with the 1095-A form. After trying to fix my rejected return for weeks, I couldn't get through to the IRS for clarification. The hold times were ridiculous - like 2+ hours every time I called! I eventually found a service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. They have this system that basically waits on hold for you and calls you back when an agent picks up. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with explained exactly how to handle the allocation percentages on Form 8962 when you're only covered for part of the year on someone else's plan. Saved me so much stress and prevented me from having to pay back tax credits I shouldn't have owed.

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself since I was getting desperate with my own 1095-A issue. It actually worked exactly as described - I got a call back in about 45 minutes and was connected directly to an IRS representative. The agent helped me understand that for allocation purposes on a family marketplace plan, I needed to file Form 8962 and coordinate with my family member on the allocation percentages. We decided on a per-person split (25% per person on a family of 4). The agent confirmed that for months I wasn't covered, I should have 0% allocation. This saved me from having to repay about $1,200 in premium tax credits that weren't actually mine. I'm still shocked at how easy it was to finally get through to someone who could help.

Just to add another perspective - you might also want to check if your parents have already filed their taxes. If they have, they may have already made an allocation decision regarding the 1095-A. You'll need to coordinate with them to make sure your allocation matches what they reported. My dad and I had to refile last year because we didn't realize we needed to agree on the allocation percentages. He put 100% on his return and I also claimed a percentage on mine. The IRS flagged both returns and we had to fix them.

Has anyone used the "alternative calculation for year of marriage" option on Form 8962? I got married in October and was on my parents' plan until September, and now I'm trying to figure out if that applies to my situation or if I should just do the regular allocation method.

This is a really common situation that trips up a lot of first-time filers! The key thing to understand is that you need to coordinate with your parents before finalizing anything. Since you didn't contribute to the premiums, the typical approach would be for your parents to allocate 100% of the premium tax credit to themselves (on their Form 8962) and for you to allocate 0% to yourself. This means you wouldn't claim any of the advance premium tax credits, so you shouldn't owe any repayment. However, you absolutely need to confirm with your parents what they're planning to report before you submit your return. If they haven't filed yet, you can decide together. If they've already filed and claimed 100%, then you should definitely use 0% allocation. For the monthly amounts, you're correct to put $0 for September through December since you weren't covered. Make sure you're only reporting the 8 months you were actually on the plan. The reason TurboTax is showing you owe money is probably because it's calculating as if you received advance premium tax credits for the full year or a higher allocation percentage. Once you get the allocation sorted out with your parents, this should resolve itself.