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ACA Subsidy Calculator

The premium tax credit is not a discount on the plan you pick. It is the difference between what the benchmark silver plan costs in your area and the share of your income the law says you should pay for cover. Pick a cheaper plan and you keep some of the difference; pick a dearer one and you pay the gap yourself.

$

Modified adjusted gross income, which is what the Marketplace counts.

Everyone on the tax return, including dependants who do not need cover.

Alaska and Hawaii have their own, higher, poverty guidelines.

$

The second-lowest-cost silver plan for your household, for the whole year.

$

Results update as you type. Nothing leaves your device.

Premium tax credit

$5,340 a year

$204.99 a month on a plan priced at $650.00 a month, for a household of 1 at 191.7% of the poverty line.

Share of income you pay
6.2%
Your contribution
$1,860
Benchmark premium
$7,200
Income before the credit ends
$32,600

Who pays for the plan

  • Premium tax credit$5,340.12
  • Your contribution$1,859.88
  • Premium above the benchmark$600.00

The credit never pays more than the benchmark plan costs, and never more than the plan you chose costs, so a plan priced above the benchmark leaves you with the difference.

What happens as income rises

Household incomeOf the poverty lineShare of incomeCredit a yearPremium a month
$15,650100%2.1%$6,871$77
$21,736139%3.5%$6,438$113
$27,822178%5.53%$5,662$178
$33,908217%7.21%$4,754$254
$39,994256%8.61%$3,757$337
$46,081294%9.79%$2,688$426
$52,167333%9.96%$2,004$483
$58,253372%9.96%$1,398$534
$62,600 — the cliff400%9.96%$965$570
$65,730420%no credit$0$650

The credit falls gently as income rises, until the household crosses 400% of the poverty line, where the credit disappears in one step rather than tapering away.

The credit ends at $62,600 of household income, which is 400% of the poverty line for 1 person. A household near that line should take less of the credit in advance: an advance payment that turns out to have been too large has to be repaid.

The 2026 applicable percentage table (Rev. Proc. 2025-25)

Household income, as a share of the poverty lineShare of income you pay for the benchmark plan
Under 133%2.1%
133% to under 150%3.14% to 4.19%
150% to under 200%4.19% to 6.6%
200% to under 250%6.6% to 8.44%
250% to under 300%8.44% to 9.96%
300% to under 400%9.96%
This household191.7% of the poverty line pays 6.2% of income

The share rises with income inside each band, which is why the credit shrinks smoothly until the last band, where it is flat at 9.96% and then stops altogether.

The poverty guidelines behind the thresholds

People in the household48 states and DCAlaskaHawaii
1$15,650$19,550$17,990
2$21,150$26,430$24,320
3$26,650$33,310$30,650
4$32,150$40,190$36,980
5$37,650$47,070$43,310
6$43,150$53,950$49,640

These are the guidelines published in January 2025, which the 2026 application uses: the 48-state figure plus $5,500 for each person beyond eight. The guidelines published in January 2026, which will apply to 2027 coverage, are higher: $15,960 for one person and $5,680 for each additional person.

This calculator works that out for the 2026 coverage year using the published figures: the HHS poverty guidelines that the 2026 application uses, and the applicable percentage table indexed for 2026 by the Internal Revenue Service. It also shows the cliff, because the extra subsidies that removed it expired at the end of 2025 and crossing 400% of the poverty line now costs a household the entire credit.

How this aca subsidy calculator works

The three numbers behind the credit

First, the benchmark premium: the cost of the second-lowest-cost silver plan offered to your household in your rating area, for the whole year. Second, the applicable percentage: the share of your household income the law expects you to contribute, which rises with income. Third, your income itself.

The credit is the benchmark premium minus your income times that percentage, and it is capped by two things: the benchmark premium itself, which stops the credit from exceeding the plan used as the yardstick, and the price of the plan you actually chose, which stops the credit from being more than the cover costs.

The 2026 table and the guidelines that go with it

For 2026 the applicable percentage runs from 2.10% of income below 133% of the poverty line to a flat 9.96% between 300% and 400%. Inside each band the share rises with income, which is what makes the credit taper smoothly rather than in steps. Rev. Proc. 2025-25 published those figures, and the same revenue procedure set the 9.96% affordability threshold used to judge whether an employer plan is affordable.

The poverty guidelines are the ones published in January 2025, since a Marketplace application uses the guidelines in force when the coverage year begins: $15,650 for a single person in the 48 states and DC, plus $5,500 for each additional person, with higher figures in Alaska and Hawaii. The guidelines published in January 2026 are higher again and will drive the 2027 credit.

Why the cliff is back, and how to plan around it

Between 2021 and 2025 the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act capped Marketplace premiums at 8.5% of income and removed the ceiling on eligibility. Those provisions expired on 31 December 2025. For 2026 the original structure applies again: a household below 400% of the poverty line may receive a credit, and a household above it receives nothing, however expensive the benchmark plan is.

The practical consequence is a marginal cost you can see from space. A household that earns a dollar more than the threshold loses the entire credit, so the last few thousand dollars of income can cost several times their face value. The defence is to take less of the credit in advance, keep the Marketplace informed when income changes, and reconcile the year on Form 8962 rather than discovering the shortfall in April.

Worked examples

Each example below was run through the calculator on this page when the site was built, so the numbers match what you see when you enter the same inputs.

A single adult on $30,000 in the 48 states

Household income for the year
$30,000.00
People in the household
1
Where you live
48 states and DC
Benchmark plan premium
$7,200.00
Premium of the plan you are considering
$7,800.00

Premium tax credit

$5,340 a year

$204.99 a month on a plan priced at $650.00 a month, for a household of 1 at 191.7% of the poverty line.

Share of income you pay
6.2%
Your contribution
$1,860
Benchmark premium
$7,200
Income before the credit ends
$32,600

Income is 191.7% of the poverty line, so the household contributes 6.20% of it, about $1,860 a year, and the credit covers the rest of the benchmark premium.

The same household just past the cliff

Household income for the year
$63,000.00
People in the household
1
Where you live
48 states and DC
Benchmark plan premium
$7,200.00
Premium of the plan you are considering
$7,800.00

Premium tax credit

$0 a year

$650.00 a month on a plan priced at $650.00 a month, for a household of 1 at 402.6% of the poverty line.

Share of income you pay
9.96%
Your contribution
$6,275
Benchmark premium
$7,200
Income before the credit ends
$0

At $63,000 the household sits above 400% of the poverty line and the credit is zero: a few thousand dollars more income removes more than five thousand dollars of help.

A family of four in Alaska

Household income for the year
$60,000.00
People in the household
4
Where you live
Alaska
Benchmark plan premium
$18,000.00
Premium of the plan you are considering
$19,000.00

Premium tax credit

$15,512 a year

$290.64 a month on a plan priced at $1,583.33 a month, for a household of 4 at 149.3% of the poverty line.

Share of income you pay
4.15%
Your contribution
$2,488
Benchmark premium
$18,000
Income before the credit ends
$100,760

Alaska has its own, much higher, poverty guidelines, so the same income places the household far lower on the scale and the credit is correspondingly larger.

Frequently asked questions

What is the premium tax credit?

A refundable tax credit that pays part of a Marketplace plan premium. The Marketplace can pay it to the insurer each month, which is what makes the premium you see lower than the sticker price. It is worked out from the cost of the benchmark silver plan where you live, your household income and your household size, not from the price of the plan you choose.

What counts as income for the credit?

Modified adjusted gross income: adjusted gross income plus untaxed foreign income, non-taxable Social Security benefits and tax-exempt interest. Wages, self-employment profit, unemployment, most retirement withdrawals, rental income and capital gains all count. Supplemental Security Income, child support, gifts, loans and veterans disability payments do not.

What is the benchmark plan, and where do I find its price?

It is the second-lowest-cost silver plan available to your household in your rating area, and its annual cost is the figure the credit is measured against. The Marketplace shows it while you shop. On this page you enter it, which is also why the answer can only be as good as the premium you type in.

Why does the credit end at 400% of the poverty line?

That is how the original Affordable Care Act subsidy is written, and the temporary enhancements that removed the ceiling expired on 31 December 2025. Unless the law changes again, 2026 works the old way: a household below the line may receive a credit, and a household above it receives none, however expensive cover is where they live.

What happens if my income changes during the year?

Report it to the Marketplace straight away and adjust how much credit you use. Advance payments are reconciled against actual income on Form 8962 with your tax return, and too much advance credit has to be repaid, subject to repayment limits that depend on income. Households with unpredictable income often take less credit each month and claim the balance as a lump sum.

Could I qualify for Medicaid instead?

Below 100% of the poverty line the Marketplace credit is not available, and in the states that expanded Medicaid the household is normally eligible for that instead. Where a state has not expanded coverage there is a gap: no federal credit below the poverty line and no Medicaid either, which is a policy problem rather than an arithmetic one.

Does picking a bronze plan change my credit?

No. The credit is measured against the benchmark silver plan, so it is the same whichever metal tier you choose. A bronze plan that costs less than the benchmark minus your contribution can leave a very small premium to pay, sometimes none, but the credit can never exceed the price of the plan, so it cannot be turned into cash.

Assumptions and sources

  • IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-25 sets the applicable percentage table and the 9.96% required contribution percentage for taxable years and plan years beginning in 2026: 2.10% below 133% of the poverty line, rising band by band to a flat 9.96% between 300% and 400%.
  • HHS poverty guidelines published on 17 January 2025: $15,650 for one person in the 48 contiguous states and DC, plus $5,500 for each additional person, with $19,550 in Alaska and $17,990 in Hawaii. The guidelines published in January 2026 are the ones that will drive the 2027 credit.
  • HealthCare.gov confirms that the additional savings introduced during the pandemic ended on 31 December 2025, so 2026 savings follow the standard rules, including the 400% ceiling on eligibility.
  • Not modelled: rating-area plan prices, the cost-sharing reductions that lower deductibles and copays on silver plans for households between 100% and 250% of the poverty line, employer coverage affordability tests, and the reconciliation of advance credit on Form 8962. This is not tax advice.

Last reviewed 2026-09-14. This page is an estimate tool, not financial, tax or legal advice.Read the full disclaimer.

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