The monthly option helps you pay for health insurance as you go.
The health coverage tax credit (HCTC) began in 2002 as an effort to make health care affordable for certain families by allowing taxpayers to pay only 20% of health insurance premiums. The HCTC was expanded in 2009 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and is available on a monthly basis to help pay for health insurance as you go, or on a yearly basis when you file your federal income tax return. If you opt to receive the credit on your federal income tax return, you’ll need to file a federal form 8885, Health Coverage Tax Credit together with your return. Like the adoption credit for 2010, the HCTC is refundable. To qualify for the credit, you must be receiving Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) benefits — including Reemployment (RTAA) or Alternative (ATAA) — or receiving pension payments from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and be 55 years old or older. To see if you qualify, check out the IRS website.