Plan year 2027 · Updated October 24, 2026
2027 ACA subsidy calculator
For 2027 you get a premium tax credit only if your household income is between 100% and 400% of the poverty line, which is $15,960 to $63,840 for one person. The credit is the price of your county's benchmark silver plan minus 2.15% to 10.22% of your income.
2027 premium tax credit worksheet
Monthly figuresWorked example: one adult, 45, in Harris County, Texas, expecting $40,000 in 2027. Change any answer on the left to see your own numbers.
Next: see the real 2027 plans for your ZIP code
These are estimates from 2026 county prices. The real 2027 plans for your ZIP code, with your doctors and prescriptions checked, are on HealthCare.gov, where you can apply for free. Free one-on-one help: localhelp.healthcare.gov.
Next: apply for Medicaid or CHIP
Apply through your state Medicaid agency or HealthCare.gov. The application is free and open all year, and if you turn out not to qualify, the same application checks you for a marketplace credit.
If you're in the coverage gap
Community health centers charge on a sliding scale by income, whether or not you have insurance; find one at findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov. Check Medicaid anyway if you're pregnant, caring for a child, or have a disability, since those limits are different. And if your 2027 income could reach 100% of the poverty line, enter that estimate: the credit starts there.
An estimate, not an eligibility decision. HealthInsurance.help is not a government website and is not connected to HealthCare.gov, CMS or any state Medicaid agency. Final credits are set on your tax return using your actual income.
How the 2027 credit is figured
The marketplace decides what you can afford to pay, then pays the rest of one particular plan's price. Here is the example in the worksheet, line by line.
- One person's 2026 poverty guideline is $15,960. That is the figure used for 2027 coverage, because the IRS uses the guideline in effect when open enrollment starts.
- $40,000 divided by $15,960 is 251% of the poverty line.
- At 251%, the 2027 table expects you to pay 8.68% of income toward the benchmark plan: $3,472 a year, or $289 a month.
- The second-lowest-cost silver plan in Harris County costs a 45-year-old $669 a month at 2026 prices.
- The credit is the difference: $669 minus $289 is $380 a month.
The credit is a fixed dollar amount. You can spend it on any metal level. In Harris County the cheapest gold plan ($567) costs less than the benchmark silver ($669), so after the credit the gold plan costs $187 a month. That happens in a lot of counties because insurers load the cost of silver-plan discounts onto silver premiums. Look at every metal level before you pick.
The 400% cliff is back
From 2021 through 2025 there was no upper income limit. That ended with 2025, so in 2026 and 2027 one dollar over 400% of the poverty line means no credit at all. The cliff hurts most for people in their late 50s and early 60s, whose premiums run 2.2 to 3 times a 21-year-old's.
A couple aged 62 and 60 in Miami-Dade County with $90,000 of income is $3,440 over the $86,560 limit for two people. They get nothing and pay $2,992 a month for the benchmark plan. If their income were $86,560, the credit would be worth about $27,056 a year.
Income is what's on your tax return, so it can sometimes be moved. Contributions to a traditional 401(k), a traditional IRA or an HSA lower the income the marketplace counts. Bronze plans are HSA-eligible starting in 2026, so more people can use this. A Roth contribution does not lower it.
Three households, worked out
| Household | Income | % of poverty line | Benchmark | Credit | Cheapest bronze after credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single, 45, Harris County, TX | $40,000 | 251% | $669/mo | $380/mo | $44/mo |
| Couple 42 and 40, kids 10 and 7, Maricopa County, AZ | $90,000 | 273% | $1,565/mo | $862/mo | $394/mo |
| Couple 62 and 60, Miami-Dade County, FL | $90,000 | 416% | $2,992/mo | $0/mo | $2,193/mo |
What counts as income
The marketplace uses modified adjusted gross income for everyone on your tax return who has to file. Start with adjusted gross income (line 11 of Form 1040), then add any untaxed foreign income, tax-exempt interest and the untaxed part of Social Security benefits. Child support you receive, gifts and Supplemental Security Income don't count. A dependent's income counts only if the dependent is required to file a return.
If you lost a job partway through the year, the wages you earned before that still count for the year. A layoff in June doesn't reset the year to zero, so estimate the full calendar year.
Below 100% of the poverty line
In the 40 states and DC that expanded Medicaid, adults up to 138% of the poverty line usually get Medicaid instead. In the 10 states that did not (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming), an adult under 100% can fall into a gap with neither Medicaid nor a credit. Georgia and Wisconsin cover some of those adults through their own programs. The calculator flags this, and each state page has the limits in dollars.
Starting in 2026, lawfully present immigrants under 100% of the poverty line no longer get the credit. From 2027 the credit is limited to green card holders, Cuban and Haitian entrants and citizens of the Compact of Free Association countries, plus U.S. citizens and nationals.
What this calculator leaves out
- 2027 prices. County figures are 2026 premiums from CMS's plan files for the 30 states that used HealthCare.gov in 2026. State-run exchanges publish their own prices, so for those states, enter your benchmark in box F.
- ZIP-level differences. In 18 counties some plans cover only part of the county. The calculator warns you when your county is one of them.
- State subsidies. California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Virginia and several other states add their own help on top. The state pages list them.
- Tobacco surcharges. Insurers in most states can charge tobacco users up to 50% more, and the credit doesn't cover the surcharge.
- Job-based coverage. If your employer offers you coverage that costs less than 10.22% of household income in 2027 for your own self-only plan, you can't get the credit for yourself.
Sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-26 (2027 percentages) and 2025-25 (2026); HHS 2026 poverty guidelines (Federal Register, January 15, 2026); 26 U.S.C. 36B; Congress.gov actions on H.R. 1834 (119th Congress); Pub. L. 119-21 sections 71301, 71302 and 71305; CMS individual market plan file on data.healthcare.gov, plan year 2026; CMS default age curve; CMS 2027 premium adjustment percentage guidance, January 29, 2026 (out-of-pocket limits). Details on the methodology page.
Questions people ask
Did Congress extend the bigger subsidies for 2027?
No. The larger credits from 2021 through 2025 expired on December 31, 2025. The House passed a three-year extension (H.R. 1834) on January 8, 2026, by 230 to 196; it has sat on the Senate calendar since February 10 with no vote, according to Congress.gov. No law enacted through October 2026 changes the credit. For 2027 the original rules apply, including the 400% income limit.
What is the income limit for a 2027 subsidy?
Household income between 100% and 400% of the 2026 poverty guideline: $15,960 to $63,840 for one person and $33,000 to $132,000 for a family of four in the 48 contiguous states and DC. Alaska and Hawaii have higher guidelines.
Why does the calculator use 2026 premiums?
CMS had not published the 2027 county plan data when this page was last updated on October 24, 2026. The 2026 benchmark is the latest real price for each county. 2027 premiums will be higher in most places; our state pages show each regulator's average 2027 rate change where one is published. Enter the 2027 benchmark from HealthCare.gov in box F to replace ours.
What happens if my income ends up different from my estimate?
You settle up on your 2027 tax return with Form 8962. If you took more credit than your final income allows, you pay back the whole difference, because the repayment caps ended starting with 2026 returns. If your income comes in more than 400% of the poverty line, every dollar of advance credit is paid back.
Is a $0 bronze plan a good deal?
It can be, if you rarely use care. A bronze plan can have a deductible near the 2027 out-of-pocket limit of $12,000 for one person. If you are under 250% of the poverty line, compare it with silver, which comes with lower deductibles at that income.