Who Is Considered a Member of My Household?
When determining your household for Health Insurance Marketplace purposes, your household generally includes:
- You (the taxpayer)
- Your spouse, if you're legally married
- Any dependents you plan to claim on your tax return
Household size is important because it helps determine eligibility for Marketplace coverage and premium tax credits.
Who Should Be Included in Your Household?
According to Healthcare.gov, follow these guidelines when building your household:
- Include your spouse if you are legally married.
- Include any tax dependent you plan to claim on your tax return for the coverage year.
- Do not include a tax dependent if you will not be claiming them on your tax return.
- Include your spouse and dependents even if they do not need health insurance coverage.
How Do I Add or Remove a Spouse or Dependent?
If you need to update your return to add a spouse or dependent:
To Add or Update a Spouse
- Select Basic Information
- Choose Personal Information
- Enter or update your spouse's information
To Add or Update a Dependent
- Select Basic Information
- Locate the Dependents section
- Choose Add/Edit Dependents
- Enter or update the dependent's information
How Do I Add Other Household Members?
If you need to add someone to your health insurance household who is not your spouse or dependent, use the + Household Member option on the Verify Your Household Members screen.
You'll find this option directly below the blue information box on that page.
Why Household Size Matters
Your Marketplace household size may affect:
- Premium tax credit eligibility
- Monthly premium assistance amounts
- Cost-sharing reductions
- Required household income calculations
For this reason, it's important that your household information matches who you expect to include on your tax return for the year.
Additional Information
For more details about determining household size for Marketplace coverage, visit Healthcare.gov's Household Size guidance.
Quick Tip
If your family situation changes during the year due to marriage, divorce, birth, adoption, or a change in who you claim as a dependent, update your information as soon as possible. Keeping your household information current can help prevent issues when reconciling your Premium Tax Credit on your tax return.