Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Line 24 is your total premium tax credit, line 25 is the advance payments made for you, and line 26 is the amount by which the credit is larger. Lines 24 and 25 copy totals from line 11 or lines 12 through 23. A line 26 amount is carried to Schedule 3, line 9.
Related reading on this site: IRS Publication 974.
What lines 24, 25 and 26 ask for
The form’s captions are short. Line 24 reads “Total PTC. Enter the amount from line 11, column (e), or add lines 12 through 23, column (e), and enter the total here”. Line 25 reads “Advance payment of PTC. Enter the amount from line 11, column (f), or add lines 12 through 23, column (f), and” enter the total here. Line 26 begins “Net PTC. If line 24 is greater than line 25, subtract line 25 from line 24.” These lines reconcile the credit you are owed for the year with the advance payments already made on your behalf. The overview of the form is on the Form 8962 line by line guide page.
Line 24: total PTC
The instructions say “Enter the amount from line 11(e) or add lines 12(e) through 23(e) and enter the total.” Which one you use depends on the choice you made at line 10; the rows themselves are explained on the lines 11 to 23 page.
Line 25: advance payment of PTC
The instructions say “Enter the amount from line 11(f) or add lines 12(f) through 23(f) and enter the total.” Column (f) is the advance payment reported in column C of your Form 1095-A, covered on the Form 1095-A column C page.
Line 26: net PTC
The instructions explain: “If line 24 is greater than line 25, subtract line 25 from line 24 and enter the result on line 26.” They continue “This result is the amount of your PTC that is more than the APTC paid, your net PTC.” Then “This amount will reduce the amount of tax you must pay with your tax return or increase your refund.”
When the two lines match, the instructions cover it with “If line 24 is equal to line 25”, then give the entry for line 26 and tell you to “skip lines 27 through 29.” If the advance payments were larger, the instructions say “If line 25 is greater than line 24, leave line 26 blank and go to Part III.” That case is covered on the lines 27, 28 and 29 page.
An illustration of the arithmetic (computed illustration, not an IRS example): if line 24 is $5,000 and line 25 is $3,000 then line 26 is $5,000 minus $3,000 or $2,000 in total.
Where the number comes from
Line 24 comes from the monthly or annual credit rows and line 25 from the advance payments on your Form 1095-A. The Form 1095-A totals are explained on the line 33 totals page. If you chose the alternative calculation for the year of marriage, the instructions add a special rule: “If you elected the alternative calculation for year of marriage, and line 24 is greater than line 25”, they say what to enter on line 26, ending with “line 26 and skip lines 27 through 29.” That election is covered on the lines 35 and 36 page.
Where it goes next
The form says to enter the line 26 amount “here and on Schedule 3 (Form 1040), line 9.” The instructions repeat it: “Also enter the amount from line 26 on Schedule 3 (Form 1040), line 9.” The schedule line is explained on the Schedule 3 line 9 page, and from there the amount flows into the payments section of Form 1040, covered on the Form 1040 lines 32 and 33 page.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Form 8962 and its 2025 instructions, the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-18. They are the files for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. The form header says “Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.” Check the tax year printed on the form you are filling in and use the line numbers on that year’s form, because a different year’s form can number or word its lines differently. The whole form is walked through on the Form 8962 line by line guide page.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting to carry line 26 to the return. The instructions warn: “be sure to enter that amount on Schedule 3 (Form 1040), line 9.”
- Re-adding the wrong columns. The instructions say “Check your math, especially when completing line 11, or lines 12 through 23, and entering the totals on lines 24 and 25.”
- Typing annual totals into monthly rows. One example of a math error the instructions give is “Annual totals from Form 1095-A, line 33, entered as monthly amounts on Form 8962, lines 12 through 23.”
Related: Schedule 3 line 9, Form 1040 lines 32 and 33, Form 1095-A column C, and Form 1095-A line 33.
Sources
- Instructions for Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit (PTC) (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8962.pdf
- Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit (PTC) (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8962.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 18, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.