Income included and excluded from Marketplace MAGI
Sort wages, interest, gains, retirement income, benefits, gifts, loans, child support, and other common receipts.
Marketplace income starts from federal AGI, so taxable wages, business income, gains, unemployment, and most retirement distributions generally count. Gifts, loans, child support, SSI, and specified benefits generally do not, while ACA add-backs still apply.
Classify through the federal return
Ask whether the item enters AGI, then apply ACA's tax-exempt-interest, foreign-income, and nontaxable-Social-Security additions. A bank deposit is not automatically income, and a nontaxable receipt is not automatically ignored.
Use the coverage year's expected total
The Marketplace asks for current monthly information and an annual estimate. Include irregular bonuses, investment distributions, seasonal work, and expected retirement withdrawals rather than multiplying one ordinary paycheck blindly.
Decision example and mistake
A household receives a loan and a taxable year-end bonus. The loan is generally not income; the bonus generally is. The mistake is counting every cash inflow or, at the other extreme, using only regular wages.
Classify income before projecting it
Maintain a projection by federal tax category rather than by cash deposits. Wages, net self-employment income, taxable interest, dividends, gains, taxable retirement distributions, and other AGI items generally matter. Gifts, loans, child support, and qualifying withdrawals that do not enter MAGI generally do not, though their underlying transactions may create taxable income.
For unusual receipts, document the federal tax treatment first; Marketplace terminology should not replace the Internal Revenue Code classification.
Filing and enrollment checks
- Trace each amount to its expected federal return line.
- Separate gross business receipts from net Schedule C income.
- Review one-time transactions before assuming cash received is excluded.
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Authorities used for this guide
- CMS / HealthCare.gov: What's included as income
Marketplace MAGI additions, included income, excluded receipts, and dependent income - IRS: Questions and answers on the Premium Tax Credit
Current 2026 eligibility, household income, change reporting, reconciliation, and full repayment - IRS: Publication 974 - Premium Tax Credit
Detailed PTC special situations, allocations, employer arrangements, and self-employed deductions