ACA Subsidy Calculator
ACA Subsidy Calculator
Your 2026 marketplace premium tax credit and how close you are to the 400% cliff.
Your 2026 marketplace premium tax credit and how close you are to the 400% cliff.
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Professional Financial Tools
8/25/2026
Modified adjusted gross income for everyone on the tax return. Pre-tax 401(k), HSA and deductible traditional IRA contributions all reduce it — which is the main lever if you are near the cliff.
Everyone you claim on your tax return, including people who have other coverage.
The second-lowest-cost Silver plan for your household in your county — the plan the credit is calculated against, whether or not you buy it. Look it up on healthcare.gov; it varies enormously by age and county.
Benchmark $700/mo less a credit of $341/mo. The credit is the same dollar amount whichever metal tier you buy — pick a cheaper Bronze plan and the credit does not shrink, so your net cost falls further. This is an estimate for planning, not an insurance quote. Actual pricing is set by the insurer or, in promulgated-rate states, by the state regulator.
Benchmark cost of $8,400 minus your required contribution of $4,312. Required contribution = income x the applicable percentage from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-25.
$45,000 against a 2025 federal poverty guideline of $15,650 for a household of 1. Note that 2025 guidelines govern 2026 coverage — the poverty guidelines always lag the plan year by one.
Set by IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-25 and interpolated within your income band. It runs from 2.10% below 133% of FPL up to a flat 9.96% from 300% to 400%.
Earn one dollar more than $62,600 and the credit drops to zero. You currently have $17,600 of headroom.
The ARPA/IRA enhanced premium tax credits, which removed the income cap and capped premiums at 8.5% of income, expired December 31, 2025. These figures reflect the original ACA structure that returned for the 2026 plan year, verified 2026-08-16. Legislation to restore the enhancements has been introduced but has not become law — verify current status before relying on this for a decision.
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Open calculatorFrom 2021 through 2025, temporary enhanced premium tax credits removed the income cap on marketplace subsidies entirely and capped benchmark premiums at 8.5% of household income. Those enhancements expired on December 31 2025.
For the 2026 plan year the original Affordable Care Act structure returned, which changes two things:
That makes "how close am I to the cliff" the question this page is really built to answer — because near the threshold, a small change in income can be worth thousands of dollars, and the levers that change it are ordinary tax planning moves.
Legislation to restore the enhanced credits has been introduced but has not become law. These figures reflect current law as verified on August 16 2026 — confirm the current position before making a decision on the strength of it.
Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to a server, and there is no signup.
The applicable percentage comes from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-25 and slides with your income as a share of the federal poverty level:
| Income as % of FPL | Required contribution |
|---|---|
| Under 133% | 2.10% |
| 133% – 150% | 3.14% → 4.19% |
| 150% – 200% | 4.19% → 6.60% |
| 200% – 250% | 6.60% → 8.44% |
| 250% – 300% | 8.44% → 9.96% |
| 300% – 400% | 9.96% flat |
| Over 400% | No credit |
Within a band the percentage is interpolated, which is how Form 8962 works. Worked example matching this calculator's defaults: a single filer with $45,000 of MAGI sits at 287.5% of the poverty level, giving an applicable percentage of 9.58%. That is a required contribution of $4,304 per year. Against a $700/month benchmark plan ($8,400/year), the credit is $4,088 — leaving $359 per month.
An important detail on the poverty guidelines: 2026 coverage is calculated from the 2025 HHS poverty guidelines. They always lag the plan year by one. For 48 states and DC that puts the cliff at $62,600 for a single person and $128,600 for a family of four.
The cliff is a genuine discontinuity. At 400.00% of FPL you receive a credit; at 400.01% you receive nothing. For an older household — where benchmark premiums are three times what a young adult pays — crossing it can cost well over $10,000 a year.
Because the test is modified adjusted gross income, the ordinary levers that reduce MAGI also restore eligibility:
Near the threshold these are among the highest-return tax moves available to a household, because the benefit is not the marginal rate on the contribution — it is the entire premium tax credit.
One more trap: for the 2026 plan year, if you took the credit in advance and your final income lands above 400% of FPL, you repay the entire advance credit when you reconcile on Form 8962. The old repayment caps do not apply. If your income is uncertain and near the line, taking less in advance — or none, and claiming it at filing — removes that risk entirely.
Two things worth knowing about the result:
The credit is a fixed dollar amount. It is calculated against the benchmark Silver plan but you can apply it to any metal tier. Buy a cheaper Bronze plan and the credit does not shrink — your net cost falls further.
But check cost-sharing reductions before you do that. At or below 250% of FPL you also qualify for CSRs, which cut your deductible and copays substantially — and they are available only on Silver plans. Chasing the lower Bronze premium and forfeiting a heavily subsidised Silver plan is a common and expensive mistake.
Below 100% of FPL, eligibility depends on your state: in Medicaid expansion states adults up to 138% of FPL generally get Medicaid instead, and in non-expansion states households under 100% can fall into a coverage gap. Contact a marketplace navigator if that is your situation.