Reporting Income and Household Changes to the ACA Marketplace

If you have an Affordable Care Act (ACA) health plan, you should report any income or household changes to the marketplace as soon as possible. These changes — like did you move, get a raise or bonus, change jobs, get divorced — may affect the coverage or savings you’re eligible for.

Why Do I Need to Inform the Marketplace?

The tax credits you get to lower your premium each month are based on your income and the number of people living in your household.

If you get paid more than you estimated, your tax credits could be lowered
If you are being paid less than you estimated, you could qualify for more marketplace savings
Adding or losing someone from your household could raise or lower your savings
Income and household changes could impact the amount you get back or owe on your federal income taxes
You could qualify for free or low-cost coverage through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
If you are now eligible for or covered by your or your spouse’s work-based insurance, you may need to cancel your ACA plan.

What Changes Do I Report?

Changes to your expected or actual income for the year:
- Find out how to estimate your income and what to include
Changes in your health coverage:
- Someone in your household is offered job-based insurance, even if they don’t enroll in it
- Someone in your household gets coverage from a public program like Medicaid, CHIP, or Medicare
- Someone in your household is losing/lost coverage, like job-based coverage, CHIP, or Medicaid
Changes to the number of people in your household. You:
- Get pregnant
- Have or adopt a child
- Place a child up for adoption or in foster care
- Gain or lose a dependent some other way
- Get married or divorced
Moving to a permanent address in your state
- If you move to another state, don’t update the marketplace. Learn what to do when you move out of state

Other Changes to Report

A child on your plan turns 26 years of age
Corrections to your name, date of birth, or Social Security Number
Changes in status:
- Disability status
- Tax filing status
- Citizenship or immigration status
- Status as an American Indian/Alaska Native or tribal member
- Incarceration or release from incarceration

You may be asked to submit documents to confirm any changes you report.

How Will the Changes Affect Me?

The IRS has a tool you can use to see how income and household changes may affect your ACA plan savings.

How do I Report Changes to the Marketplace?

You report changes to the marketplace by updating your application. You can update your application online, by phone, or in person. Healthcare.gov provides instructions.

American Exchange can help make the changes as long as we can locate your application, or if we enrolled you in your ACA plan. Once we update your application, we will be able to upload required documentation to the marketplace and help you with insurance-related questions and marketplace issues.

American Exchange — Experts Help Find the Right ACA Plan for You and Your Family

American Exchange has licensed, independent agents who will listen to you to help find the best plan available in your area for your individual or family health, lifestyle, and budgetary needs. We also make sure you get all available tax credits.

Call: 1.888.995.1674 Email: enroll@americanexchange.com

Visit Our ACA Insurance Webpage

Learn More About ACA Health Plans

We publish a blog covering important ACA marketplace topics the second Tuesday of each month, and more often during Open Enrollment, which begins November 1 each year. We also create handouts to address common topics impacting ACA enrollees. Click on the link below to read or download:

American Exchange is a licensed health insurance broker. Robert Huffaker, NPN 13568432

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Reporting Income and Household Changes to the ACA Marketplace