ACA Subsidy Calculator 2026 & 2027: Obamacare Premium Tax Credit
Estimate your premium tax credit for 2026 or 2027 Marketplace coverage from household income, household size, and ages. See your income as a percent of the poverty line, how close you are to the 400% cliff, what you would repay if income comes in higher, and how a SEP, solo 401(k), or HSA contribution can keep a self-employed household eligible. IRS tables verified September 2026.
Household = you, your spouse if filing jointly, and everyone you claim as a dependent, whether or not they enroll. 2026 coverage uses the 2025 poverty guidelines and Rev. Proc. 2025-25.
Alaska and Hawaii have higher poverty lines. The state also sets the Medicaid note in your results.
AGI plus tax-exempt interest, nontaxable Social Security, and excluded foreign income, for everyone in the household who must file.
To enroll more people, raise the household size first.
Rough estimate: the U.S. average benchmark for a 40-year-old ($625/mo, KFF) scaled by the CMS default age curve. Only the three oldest children under 21 are priced. Real benchmarks vary widely by county.
The credit works on any metal level but can't exceed the plan's premium. Leave blank to price the benchmark plan.
Monthly Tax Credit
$338.67
$4,064 for the year
Benchmark After Credit
$286.33
255% of the poverty line
Keep your MAGI on track all year
Jupid tracks self-employment income and deductions as they happen, so the Marketplace estimate you give and the Form 8962 you file stay close.
Eligible: 255% of the federal poverty line
Household income between 100% and 400% FPL qualifies for 2026 coverage bought through HealthCare.gov or your state's Marketplace.
How the Credit Is Built
Assumes nobody enrolling is offered affordable job-based coverage (employee-only premium at or under 9.96% of household income in 2026), is on Medicare or Medicaid, or files married filing separately. Plans picked in the low-income special enrollment period no longer get the credit from 2026.
Applicable percentages from Rev. Proc. 2025-25; poverty lines from the 2025 HHS guidelines; Form 8962 rounding. Verified September 2026. Estimates only; your Marketplace determination and Form 8962 control.
Positive if income comes in higher (a big client, a sale), negative if lower.
Assumes you took the full credit above in advance for all 12 months. From tax year 2026 any excess is repaid in full on Form 8962; the old caps (up to $3,250 in 2025) are gone under P.L. 119-21.
Repayment goes on Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 1a; extra credit on Schedule 3, line 9. Report income changes to the Marketplace during the year to adjust your advance payments.
How This Calculator Works
Place income on the poverty scale
Your MAGI divided by the poverty line for your household size gives a percent, rounded down as on Form 8962. 2026 coverage uses the 2025 HHS guidelines, 2027 coverage the 2026 ones.
Find your expected contribution
The IRS table for the year turns that percent into an applicable percentage (2.10% to 9.96% for 2026, 2.15% to 10.22% for 2027). MAGI times that rate is what you are expected to pay for the benchmark plan.
Subtract it from the benchmark
The credit is the benchmark silver premium minus your contribution, never below zero or above your plan's premium. Above 400% FPL it is zero, which the cliff and repayment panels show in dollars.
How the Premium Tax Credit Is Calculated
The premium tax credit (PTC) under IRC §36B is the gap between a benchmark premium and what the law expects you to pay:
Credit = second-lowest-cost silver plan (SLCSP) premium − (household MAGI × applicable percentage)
The SLCSP is priced for the people you enroll, in your rating area. The applicable percentage comes from the IRS table for the coverage year and rises with income as a share of the federal poverty line (FPL). The credit applies to any metal level, is capped at the premium of the plan you buy, and is zero when income is above 400% FPL. Tables verified September 2026:
| Income as % of FPL | 2026 coverage (Rev. Proc. 2025-25) | 2027 coverage (Rev. Proc. 2026-26) |
|---|---|---|
| Under 133% | 2.10% | 2.15% |
| 133% to under 150% | 3.14% to 4.19% | 3.23% to 4.30% |
| 150% to under 200% | 4.19% to 6.60% | 4.30% to 6.78% |
| 200% to under 250% | 6.60% to 8.44% | 6.78% to 8.66% |
| 250% to under 300% | 8.44% to 9.96% | 8.66% to 10.22% |
| 300% to 400% | 9.96% | 10.22% |
| Over 400% | No credit | No credit |
Inside each band the rate rises in a straight line. Form 8962 drops the decimals from your FPL percent and rounds the rate to four decimals.
Worked example (2026). A single 40-year-old in Ohio expects $40,000 of MAGI. $40,000 / $15,650 = 255.6%, entered as 255. The rate is 8.44% + (9.96% − 8.44%) × 5/50 = 8.59%, so the expected contribution is $40,000 × 0.0859 = $3,436 a year, or $286 a month. With a $625 monthly benchmark ($7,500 a year) the credit is $7,500 − $3,436 = $4,064 a year ($338.67 a month). A $450 bronze plan would cost $111.33 a month after the credit; the benchmark silver plan would cost $286.33.
2026 and 2027 vs. 2025: The Cliff Is Back and Repayment Has No Cap
The American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act enhanced the credit for tax years 2021 through 2025. Those rules expired on December 31, 2025. The House passed a three-year extension (H.R. 1834) 230 to 196 on January 8, 2026; it has been on the Senate calendar since February 10, 2026 with no vote. As of September 2026 nothing has been enacted, and the IRS published the 2027 table on the original formula.
| Rule | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Applicable percentage | 0% to 8.5% | 2.10% to 9.96% | 2.15% to 10.22% |
| Income ceiling | None (8.5% cap above 400%) | 400% FPL | 400% FPL |
| Poverty guidelines used | 2024 | 2025 ($15,650 single) | 2026 ($15,960 single) |
| Excess advance credit repayment | Capped at $375 to $3,250 under 400% FPL | Repaid in full | Repaid in full |
| Lawfully present immigrants under 100% FPL | Eligible if barred from Medicaid by status | Not eligible | Not eligible |
The repayment change comes from P.L. 119-21 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), §71305, for tax years beginning after 2025. The 2025 caps were $375 / $750 under 200% FPL, $975 / $1,950 from 200% to 300%, and $1,625 / $3,250 from 300% to 400% (single / other filers). The same law made other changes:
- 2026: no credit for a plan picked in an income-based special enrollment period (§71304), and no credit for lawfully present immigrants under 100% FPL (§71302). Bronze and catastrophic Marketplace plans count as HSA-eligible high-deductible plans (§71307).
- 2027: the credit is limited to green card holders, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and COFA migrants among noncitizens (§71301).
- 2028: Marketplaces must verify income and eligibility before advance payments start (§71303).
Open enrollment for 2027 coverage on HealthCare.gov runs November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027; sign up by December 15 for coverage that starts January 1. State-run Marketplaces set their own dates.
ACA Income Limits for 2026 Coverage (48 states + DC)
Household MAGI thresholds from the 2025 HHS poverty guidelines, which set eligibility for 2026 coverage. The credit runs from 100% to 400%; 138% is the usual Medicaid limit for adults in expansion states. Switch the year or pick Alaska or Hawaii in the calculator to change this table.
| Household size | 100% | 138% | 150% | 200% | 250% | 300% | 400% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,650 | $21,597 | $23,475 | $31,300 | $39,125 | $46,950 | $62,600 |
| 2 | $21,150 | $29,187 | $31,725 | $42,300 | $52,875 | $63,450 | $84,600 |
| 3 | $26,650 | $36,777 | $39,975 | $53,300 | $66,625 | $79,950 | $106,600 |
| 4 | $32,150 | $44,367 | $48,225 | $64,300 | $80,375 | $96,450 | $128,600 |
| 5 | $37,650 | $51,957 | $56,475 | $75,300 | $94,125 | $112,950 | $150,600 |
| 6 | $43,150 | $59,547 | $64,725 | $86,300 | $107,875 | $129,450 | $172,600 |
| 7 | $48,650 | $67,137 | $72,975 | $97,300 | $121,625 | $145,950 | $194,600 |
| 8 | $54,150 | $74,727 | $81,225 | $108,300 | $135,375 | $162,450 | $216,600 |
Add $5,500 to the 100% column for each person beyond eight, and multiply for the other columns. Ten states have not expanded Medicaid (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming); there, adults from 100% FPL usually get the credit instead. Sources: ASPE poverty guidelines, verified September 2026.
Self-Employed: Planning MAGI Around the Cliff
For the credit, MAGI is AGI plus tax-exempt interest, nontaxable Social Security, and excluded foreign income. For a sole proprietor, AGI starts with Schedule C profit and subtracts half of self-employment tax, retirement contributions, HSA contributions, and the self-employed health insurance deduction. Those subtractions are what you can steer before the year closes.
Example. A single 60-year-old consultant expects $64,000 of MAGI for 2026. The 400% line is $62,600, so the credit is $0 and she pays the full benchmark, estimated at $1,327.27 a month. A $1,400 SEP-IRA contribution puts MAGI at exactly $62,600: the expected contribution becomes $62,600 × 9.96% = $6,235 and the credit becomes $15,927 − $6,235 = $9,692 for the year. For 2027 coverage the line is $63,840, so the same income would be only $160 over.
- SEP-IRA: up to about 20% of net self-employment earnings, and it can be funded until the filing deadline including extensions. See the SEP IRA calculator.
- Solo 401(k): employee deferrals plus the employer share; see the solo 401(k) calculator for limits and deadlines.
- HSA: $4,400 self-only or $8,750 family for 2026, due by April 15, 2027. From 2026 bronze and catastrophic Marketplace plans are HSA-eligible. See the HSA calculator.
The health insurance deduction loop. Self-employed people can deduct Marketplace premiums, but only the part the credit did not pay. The deduction lowers MAGI, a lower MAGI raises the credit, and a larger credit shrinks the deduction. IRS Publication 974 gives an iterative method and a simplified method; either works as long as the deduction plus the credit do not exceed the premiums. This calculator does not run that loop, so leave the deduction out for a conservative first pass. Our guide to the self-employed health insurance deduction covers Form 7206.
Reconciling on Form 8962 With Form 1095-A
Advance payments are based on the income you estimate at enrollment. At tax time Form 8962 recomputes the credit on your actual MAGI, using the monthly amounts the Marketplace reports on Form 1095-A, Part III:
- Column A: enrollment premiums for your plan.
- Column B: the applicable SLCSP premium. If it is blank or wrong (a move, a birth, a new enrollee), look it up with the HealthCare.gov tax tool.
- Column C: advance payments made to your insurer.
Line 8a is MAGI times the applicable figure, line 11 or lines 12 to 23 compare column B minus your contribution with column A, and the smaller amount is your credit. If the credit is larger than column C, the difference goes to Schedule 3, line 9. If it is smaller, the excess goes to Schedule 2, line 1a, in full from 2026. In the worked example above, income $10,000 higher than estimated ($50,000, 319% FPL) cuts the credit to $2,520 and adds $1,544 to tax due. Step-by-step guides: Form 8962 and Form 1095-A.
Frequently Asked Questions
Official References
- IRS: Questions and Answers on the Premium Tax Credit
Eligibility (100% to 400% FPL), the definition of household income and MAGI, and the end of repayment caps for tax years after 2025.
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-25: 2026 Applicable Percentage Table
Sets the 2.10% to 9.96% table and the 9.96% required contribution percentage for 2026.
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-26: 2027 Applicable Percentage Table
Sets the 2.15% to 10.22% table and the 10.22% required contribution percentage for 2027.
- IRS Instructions for Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit
Line-by-line reconciliation, the FPL rounding rule, and how Form 1095-A amounts are used.
- IRS Publication 974, Premium Tax Credit
Includes the iterative and simplified methods for combining the self-employed health insurance deduction with the credit.
- HHS ASPE: Poverty Guidelines
Current and prior-year poverty guidelines for the 48 states and DC, Alaska, and Hawaii.
- HealthCare.gov: Lower Costs on Health Insurance
How savings are estimated at enrollment and where to preview plans and benchmark premiums for your county.
This calculator provides estimates based on IRS tables and HHS guidelines verified in September 2026. The age-based benchmark is a national average, not your county's price, and the calculator does not check job-based coverage offers, Medicaid or CHIP eligibility, immigration status, or state subsidies that some state Marketplaces add. Consult a tax professional for advice on your situation.
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