Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Part V is an optional election for people who married during the year and had marketplace coverage before the first full month of marriage. Line 35 holds your alternative entries and line 36 your spouse’s. The instructions send you to Pub. 974 to fill in the columns.
More IRS forms and schedules, read line by line: Form 8857 innocent spouse relief.
What Part V is for
The part heading on the form is “Alternative Calculation for Year of Marriage”. The form says “Complete line(s) 35 and/or 36 to elect the alternative calculation for year of marriage.” The instructions say “Complete Part V to elect the alternative calculation for your premarriage months.” They also say “Electing the alternative calculation is optional but may reduce the amount of excess APTC you must repay.” The rest of the form is on the Form 8962 line by line guide page.
Who can make the election
The instructions say “To be eligible to make this election, you must meet either of the following conditions.” The first is “You answered “Yes” to all five questions in Table 4.” The second is “You checked “Yes” on line 14 of Worksheet 3.” Table 4 and Worksheet 3 are in the line 9 instructions and are not copied here; the lines 9 and 10 page covers them. One of the Table 4 questions asks “Are you filing a joint return with your spouse for 2025?” Another asks “Was anyone in your tax family enrolled in a qualified health plan before your first full month of marriage?”
The instructions give a warning about order: “Do not go to Pub. 974 until you have completed Table 4 to determine whether you meet the requirements to elect the alternative calculation.”
Lines 35 and 36
The form labels the two lines by whose Social Security number they use: “Alternative entries for your SSN” on line 35 and “Alternative entries for your spouse’s SSN” on line 36. Each has four columns: “Alternative family size”, “Alternative monthly contribution amount”, “Alternative start month” and “Alternative stop month”.
The instructions do not give the entries on the page. They say “Complete line 35, columns (a) through (d), as indicated in Pub. 974 under Alternative Calculation for Year of Marriage.” and the same for line 36. In addition, “use the worksheets and instructions necessary to complete the alternative calculation in Pub. 974.”
Where the number comes from
The line 35 and 36 entries come from the Pub. 974 worksheets, which is why this page does not show them. Your Form 1095-A statements for the months before marriage supply the underlying premiums; see the Form 1095-A column B page. In the monthly rows, the instructions for column (c) say “If you completed Part V, see Pub. 974 for how to complete column (c).” The instructions for the premarriage months in column (b) also say “If you completed Part V, use the instructions in Pub. 974 for the entries to make for your premarriage months.”
Where it goes next
Part V feeds the monthly calculation in Part II, covered on the lines 11 to 23 page. At line 26 the instructions say “If you elected the alternative calculation for year of marriage, and line 24 is greater than line 25”, with a special entry that is explained on the lines 24, 25 and 26 page. If excess advance payments remain, the repayment is figured on the lines 27, 28 and 29 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 the wrong start month. The instructions say “Either you or your spouse should have a start month that is the same as the first month you claim the PTC on lines 12 through 23.”
- Leaving out months. The instructions say “These months should be inclusive of all months you are using a reduced monthly contribution.”
- Opening Pub. 974 before checking eligibility. The instructions say “Do not go to Pub. 974 until you have completed Table 4”.
Related: Form 1095-A column B, Form 1095-A parts I and II, Form 1040, and ACA subsidy calculator.
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.