You'll need to file a federal income tax return if:

• During the year, advance credit payments in any amount were applied to your premium.
• You decided to wait to claim the premium tax credit at the end of the tax year.

You'll get a 1095 form from the Health Insurance Marketplace. For the 2014 tax year, you'll get this form by Jan. 31, 2015. It'll show the amount of your premiums and advance credit payments made.

You'll use this to see if there are any differences between:

• The amount of advance payments applied to your premium based on the information you gave the Marketplace.
• The tax credit amount you're actually due based on what you report on your tax return.

If the premium tax credit amount on your return is less than your advance credit payments, the difference will be subtracted from your refund or added to your balance due.

If the premium tax credit amount on your return is more than your advance credit payments, the difference will be added to your refund or subtracted from your balance due.

Whether you take advance payments or wait to claim your credit, this subsidy is a refundable credit. That means if the amount of your credit is more than what you owe in taxes, you'll receive the difference as a refund. If you owe no tax, you can get the full amount of the credit as a refund.