What IRS forms and lines show repayment of excess advance premium tax credit (APTC)?

1. Form 8962: the reconciliation engine for APTC

Form 8962 is the required form to reconcile Marketplace advance payments with the actual premium tax credit (PTC) you qualify for; it instructs filers to use Form 1095‑A and to complete the parts and lines that determine PTC versus APTC for each covered month ^{[1] [6]}. If your APTC exceeds your allowable PTC, Form 8962 identifies “excess APTC” and drives the repayment calculation through the worksheet and Part III/Lines 24–29 ^{[1] [2]}.

2. Which exact lines on Form 8962 show excess APTC and repayment

The calculations that reveal excess APTC appear in the later parts of Form 8962: you compare total PTC (line 24) to total APTC (line 25), compute excess APTC on line 27 (line 25 minus line 24) and then apply any repayment limitation on line 28 to find the amount you must repay (reflected on subsequent lines such as line 29 in some years/instructions) ^{[2] [7]}. The 2024/2025 instructions and the Form 8962 worksheet walk through these exact line steps and alternative calculations (for marriage-year rules, allocation situations, etc.) ^{[8] [7]}.

3. Where the repayment amount goes on your 1040 return

Any excess APTC that you must repay (after applying repayment caps, if applicable) is added to your tax liability on Form 1040 via Schedule 2 — specifically Schedule 2, Line 2 (the line for excess advance premium tax credit repayment) — which then flows into the total tax computation on Form 1040 ^{[3] [9]}. Publication 974 and the Form 8962 instructions both say the repayment is carried to Form 1040 Schedule 2 so it reduces refunds or increases amounts due ^{[10] [1]}.

4. Important exception: tax year 2020 suspension and IRS remediation

For tax year 2020, Congress and IRS guidance suspended the requirement to repay excess APTC; taxpayers with excess APTC for 2020 are not required to file Form 8962 and should not report a repayment on Schedule 2, Line 2 for 2020. The IRS has said it will reduce any excess APTC repayment amounts reported for 2020 (including Schedule 2, Line 2 and Line 29 of Form 8962) to zero and reimburse taxpayers who already repaid ^{[4] [5] [11]}.

5. Repayment limitations and when you might not owe the full excess

Form 8962 and Publication 974 explain that repayment can be limited (capped) based on household income relative to the federal poverty line; taxpayers with household income below certain thresholds may only have to repay a portion of the excess APTC as shown in the Form 8962 instructions and tables ^{[10] [1]}. The instructions and worksheets (including alternative calculations for special circumstances like marriage during the year) are where you establish whether the cap reduces your required repayment ^{[8] [7]}.

6. Practical filing notes and alerts from the IRS

The IRS warns taxpayers to use Form 1095‑A to complete Form 8962 and notes that if you do not file Form 8962 (for years when it’s required) the IRS may follow up — except for the 2020 exception where taxpayers with excess APTC should disregard missing‑Form‑8962 letters ^{[6] [4]}. The IRS also instructs taxpayers who claim net PTC to file Form 8962 and to respond to notices requesting information to finish processing returns ^[12].

Limitations and gaps in available reporting: the sources above explain the form lines and the 2020 exception in detail, but they do not provide screenshots of every line or year‑specific line numbers beyond the cited lines; for line‑by‑line, year‑specific filing you should consult the current year’s Form 8962 and its instructions on IRS.gov ^{[7] [8]}.