Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Lines 11 through 23 are where the credit is actually computed. You fill in either line 11, one row of annual totals, or lines 12 through 23, one row for each month. The enrollment premium, the second lowest cost silver plan premium and the advance payment all come from your Form 1095-A, and the contribution amount comes from line 8a or line 8b.
Related reading on this site: IRS Publication 974.
What line 11 and lines 12 to 23 ask for
Line 10 on the form is the fork. Its caption reads “See the instructions to determine if you can use line 11 or must complete lines 12 through 23.” One answer on the form says “Compute your annual PTC.” and the other says “Compute your monthly PTC and continue to line 24.” Whichever you use, you do not do both. The instructions say “If you are instructed to complete line 11, do not complete lines 12 through 23.” The decision itself is covered on the lines 9 and 10 page.
The instructions define what the monthly figure is: “Your credit amount for each month is the lesser of:” the enrollment premiums for the month, or the monthly applicable second lowest cost silver plan premium less your monthly contribution amount. They add “Your PTC for the year is the sum of all of your monthly credit amounts.”
Who may use line 11
The instructions allow the annual row only for steady, full-year coverage. For each plan, it applies if “You were enrolled in the qualified health plan for all 12 months during 2025.” Also “Your enrollment premium was the same for every month of 2025.” And “Your SLCSP premium is the same for every month of 2025.” Anyone enrolled for part of the year goes the other way: “If you were enrolled in a qualified health plan for fewer than 12 months during 2025”, the instruction that follows sends you to lines 12 through 23.
Line 11, the annual row, column by column
Column (a): “Enter the annual enrollment premiums from Form 1095-A, line 33, column A.” Column (b): “Enter the annual applicable SLCSP premium from Form 1095-A, line 33, column B.” Column (c): “Enter the amount from line 8a of Form 8962.” Column (d): “Subtract the amount in column (c) from the amount in column (b). If the result is zero or less, enter -0-.” Column (e): “Enter the lesser of the amount in column (a) or the amount in column (d).” Column (f): “Enter the APTC amount from Form 1095-A, line 33, column C.”
If you have more than one Form 1095-A, the instructions treat the columns differently. For column (a) they say “add the amounts together and enter the total”. For column (b) with several policies in the same state, they say “Enter the amount from column B of only one Form 1095-A”, and for plans in different states “add together the amounts from column B of the Forms 1095-A from each state and enter the total”. The line 33 totals are explained on the Form 1095-A line 33 page.
Lines 12 to 23, the monthly rows, column by column
Lines 12 through 23 are January through December. Column (a): “the amount of the monthly premiums reported on Form 1095-A, lines 21 through 32, column A, for the corresponding month.” Column (b): “the amount of the monthly applicable SLCSP premium reported on Form 1095-A, lines 21 through 32, column B, for the corresponding month.” Column (c): “your monthly contribution amount from line 8b.” Column (d) repeats the subtraction, and column (e) is “the lesser of the amount in column (a) or the amount in column (d) for that month.” Column (f): “the amount of the monthly APTC reported on Form 1095-A, lines 21 through 32, column C.”
The three Form 1095-A columns are explained on the column A, column B and column C pages. The contribution amount in column (c) is worked out on the lines 8a and 8b page.
Unpaid months are handled in column (a). The instructions say “You are not allowed a monthly credit amount for any month that the enrollment premiums for the month were not paid by the due date of your return”, with an exception the instructions describe in full. Read that passage before you leave a month blank.
Where the number comes from
Every amount on these lines starts on your Form 1095-A, except column (c), which comes from your own Part I result. The instructions also tell you to round: “You should round the amounts on Form 1095-A to the nearest whole dollar and enter dollars only on Form 8962.” If your Form 1095-A is missing, void or corrected, the Form 1095-A void, corrected or missing page explains the next step.
A short illustration of the arithmetic on one annual row (computed illustration, not an IRS example): suppose column (b) is $9,000 and column (c) is $3,000. Column (d) is the difference, which is $6,000 here. If, for this calculation, column (a) is $7,500 then column (e) is calculated as the smaller of $7,500 and $6,000 so column (e) is $6,000 again.
Special cases the instructions flag
If you were provided a QSEHRA, the instructions say “Do not follow this instruction if you were provided a QSEHRA.” They send you to Pub. 974 for the column (e) amounts. For married filing separately without an exception, the instructions say “skip columns (a) through (e), and complete only column (f).” If you completed Part V, the instructions say “see Pub. 974 for how to complete column (c).”
Where it goes next
Line 24 takes the result. The instructions say “Enter the amount from line 11(e) or add lines 12(e) through 23(e) and enter the total.” Line 25 does the same for column (f). Those two lines are covered on the lines 24, 25 and 26 page. If you split a policy with another taxpayer, the allocated amounts feed these rows; see the lines 30 to 34 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
- Using monthly amounts on line 11. The instructions say “Do not use monthly amounts from Form 1095-A, lines 21 through 32 (columns A, B, and C).”
- Using the annual total on a monthly row. The instructions say “Do not use total amounts from Form 1095-A, line 33.”
- Entering dollars and cents. The instructions list “Dollar and cents amounts from Form 1095-A entered as dollars on Form 8962.” among the examples of math errors.
Related: Form 1095-A line 33, Form 1095-A column A, Form 1095-A column B, Form 1095-A column C, and Form 1095-A void, corrected or missing.
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.