2027 ACA Subsidy Percentages

Open enrollment for 2027 coverage

On HealthCare.gov, open enrollment for 2027 runs from November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027 (CMS statement of July 27, 2026). Choose a plan by December 15 for coverage that starts January 1; a plan chosen December 16 to January 15 starts February 1 (HealthCare.gov dates and deadlines). States that run their own exchange set their own dates, and some close later (45 CFR 155.410(e)(4)(ii)). A 2025 rule would have shortened open enrollment from 2027 to at most nine weeks, ending by December 31 (45 CFR 155.410(e)(5)); after a court ruling CMS said it has not altered the November 1 to January 15 dates (same statement).

2027 vs 2026 applicable percentage table

Within each band the percentage ramps linearly from the initial value at the lower edge to the final value at the upper edge. At exactly 200% of FPL in 2027 you contribute 6.78% of household income; at 249% it is 8.62%, because Form 8962 reads the figure of the whole percentage, rounded to the nearest 0.01% (26 CFR 1.36B-3(g)). Every band rose from 2026 to 2027 — the floor from 2.10% to 2.15%, the ceiling from 9.96% to 10.22%, now above 10% of income.

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        style="border:0;max-width:760px;display:block;margin:1.5em auto;"
        title="2027 ACA applicable percentage table"
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<p style="font:13px/1.5 sans-serif;text-align:center;margin:.5em 0 1.5em;">Data: <a href="https://quantcalc.app/aca-subsidy-2027/">QuantCalc — quantcalc.app/aca-subsidy-2027/</a></p>

What the increase costs in dollars

The premium tax credit is benchmark silver premium − (applicable percentage × household income). A higher applicable percentage does not change the premium; it shifts more of it onto you, dollar for dollar.

Each figure is household income multiplied by the applicable percentage for that year, holding income constant; the last column is the household sizes (48 states and DC) whose income is between 300% and 400% of the poverty line under both the 2025 guidelines (2026 coverage) and the 2026 guidelines (2027 coverage). It isolates the table change; your actual credit also moves with the benchmark premium in your rating area and with the poverty guidelines.

What this means for an early-retirement bridge

If you are bridging from your last paycheck to Medicare on marketplace coverage, your managed MAGI is doing two jobs at once: keeping the premium tax credit large, and leaving room for Roth conversions before RMDs start. The 2027 table tightens the first job slightly at every income level, and the top band now crosses into double digits — above 300% of FPL you contribute 10.22% of household income before any credit applies.

The bigger structural point has not moved: the table published for 2027 stops at 400% of the federal poverty line, exactly as it did for 2026. The enhanced schedule that removed that ceiling expired after 2025. For a bridge plan, one dollar of MAGI over 400% of FPL still forfeits the entire year's credit — which is why conversion sizing near that line is worth modelling year by year rather than by rule of thumb.

2027 income boundaries, in dollars

Built from the 2026 HHS poverty guidelines for the 48 contiguous states and DC — $15,960 for a household of one, rising $5,680 per additional person — which govern the 2027 coverage year.

Source for the guideline column: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Secretary, “Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines”, 91 FR 1797 (Vol. 91, No. 10, Thursday, January 15, 2026), pp. 1797–1798; FR Doc. 2026–00755; effective 13 January 2026. Band columns are the guideline figure multiplied by the band percentage. Alaska and Hawaii use separate, higher guideline tables ($19,950 and $18,360 for a household of one) and are not shown here.

For a household of two the 2027 cliff is $86,560, up $1,960 from the $84,600 that applies to 2026 coverage. The cliff itself does not move — only the dollar line where it sits.

Your county's 2027 benchmark and credit

CMS has published the 2027 marketplace premiums for the HealthCare.gov states. Pick your county to see its benchmark (second-lowest-cost silver) premium for your ages and the 2027 credit at your income, from the table above and the 2026 poverty guidelines. Every state and county: 2027 ACA Benchmark Premiums and Subsidies for Early Retirees, by State and Age (50 to 64).

Sizing conversions across every bridge year at once — subsidy, brackets and the IRMAA years that follow — is what the Roth Conversion Planner ($49) — it includes the ACA Bridge Planner → is built for.

2026 year-end check: your MAGI against the 400% FPL cliff

The table above sets the 2027 credit. The 2026 credit is still open: it is reconciled on your 2026 return against your 2026 MAGI, and December is the last month a Roth conversion, a capital gain or a large IRA withdrawal can still move it.

Example: a single 60-year-old in North Carolina on a marketplace plan, living on $40,000 of IRA withdrawals, has a 2026 ACA MAGI of $40,000 and a premium tax credit of about $12,823 for the year. Income can rise $22,600 before it passes 400% of the poverty line. A $20,000 Roth conversion in December adds $3,198 of federal and state tax and shrinks the credit by $2,540; a $25,000 conversion crosses the cliff and loses $12,823 of credit, which from 2026 is repaid in full on the return (IRC §36B; no repayment cap: Rev. Proc. 2025-32).

An estimate from QuantCalc’s open tax engine (federal 2.6.0, state 1.26.0) for the 2026 tax year. Not tax advice: your return depends on facts this page does not ask about, so check a move with your tax preparer or custodian before acting. How the engine computes each line, with its official source: federal, state.

The 2027 employer-coverage affordability percentage

Rev. Proc. 2026-26 also sets the required contribution percentage under §36B(c)(2)(C)(i)(II) at 10.22% for plan years beginning in 2027, up from 9.96% for 2026. If your share of employer-sponsored self-only coverage costs more than 10.22% of household income, that coverage is not treated as affordable, and you may claim a premium tax credit on the marketplace instead. For someone phasing into retirement while still on an employer plan, that threshold decides which door is open.

The revenue procedure also records a change in how the indexing is computed: from the 2026 benefit year onward, the premium growth measure includes individual-market premiums alongside employer-sponsored premiums, following the HHS Marketplace Integrity and Affordability rule (90 Fed. Reg. 27074, June 25, 2025). That methodology change is why the percentages moved more than ordinary wage-versus-premium drift would suggest.

Common questions

Are the 2027 ACA subsidy percentages official?

Yes. The IRS published the 2027 applicable percentage table in Rev. Proc. 2026-26, which provides the indexing adjustments under §36B(b)(3)(A)(i) for taxable years beginning in calendar year 2027. Every percentage on this page is taken from that document.

What is the applicable percentage table?

It is the share of your household income you are expected to pay toward the benchmark second-lowest-cost silver plan. Your premium tax credit is the benchmark premium minus that expected contribution, so a higher applicable percentage means a smaller credit.

How much did the percentages rise from 2026 to 2027?

Every band went up. The floor moved from 2.10% to 2.15% and the ceiling from 9.96% to 10.22%. On $80,000 of household income in the top band, that is $8,176 of expected contribution in 2027 against $7,968 in 2026 — about $208 more per year before any change in the underlying premium.

What is the 2027 ACA affordability percentage for employer coverage?

10.22% for plan years beginning in 2027, up from 9.96% in 2026. Employer coverage costing more than that share of household income is not affordable, which is what opens the door to a marketplace premium tax credit.

Is there still a subsidy cliff above 400% of the poverty line in 2027?

The 2027 applicable-percentage table published by the IRS in Rev. Proc. 2026-26 (checked 2026-09-10) runs only up to 400% of the federal poverty line, the same structure as 2026. The enhanced schedule that removed the cap expired after 2025, so a bridge plan that lands one dollar over 400% of FPL loses the entire credit for the year.

What dollar income do these FPL bands correspond to in 2027?

They are already fixed. Under 26 CFR §1.36B-1(h) a coverage year uses the poverty guidelines in effect on the first day of the preceding open enrollment period. Enrollment for 2027 opens 1 November 2026, so 2027 runs on the January 2026 guidelines — published at 91 FR 1797 on 15 January 2026, not on anything issued in January 2027. For the 48 contiguous states and DC that puts 400% of FPL at $63,840 for a household of one, $86,560 for two, $109,280 for three and $132,000 for four. See the table above for every household size.