How do I estimate my income for the marketplace?

The estimate that matters is the future one: HealthCare.gov says marketplace savings are based on your expected household income for the year you want coverage, not last year's income, so you are forecasting, not reporting history. Start with last year's tax return as a baseline, then adjust for what you know is changing: a new job, hours changing, a raise, a side business growing or shrinking, retirement starting. What counts: the marketplace uses modified adjusted gross income, MAGI, which starts with wages, salary, self-employment income, unemployment, Social Security, retirement and investment income, then applies specific adjustments. What does not count: Supplemental Security Income and some other categories are excluded. The stakes for getting it wrong run both ways: estimate too high and you take smaller credits than you deserve all year; estimate too low and HealthCare.gov warns you could have to pay money back when you file your federal tax return. Variable income gets a practical approach: make your best estimate, and the marketplace application itself asks about current monthly income and then yearly income to help you build the number. Then the key habit: update your application when your income changes during the year, which both protects you from tax-time paybacks and unlocks bigger savings if your income drops.