Everyone you claim on your return, including yourself
Alaska and Hawaii have their own poverty guidelines
Modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) — what you expect to earn, not last year
What counts toward MAGI?
The second-lowest-cost Silver plan for your household — look it up on healthcare.gov
Why this plan and not the one I want to buy?
Premium tax credit
$0
Estimate for reference only, not verified proof — check the sources below, and their access date, before relying on this for a claim or filing.
Credit across the income range, with the 400% cliff as the drop to zero. The dot is your household.
- Your income as a share of the poverty line
- 0%
- You pay for the benchmark plan
- $0
- —
- $0
- —
- $0
ACA subsidy cliff by state (2027)
What earning $1 over 400% of the poverty line costs a 60-year-old couple in every state, and a calculator for your own household.
The ACA subsidy cliff returned in 2026: at 400% of the poverty line ($86,560 for a couple in the lower 48 states for 2027 coverage) the premium tax credit drops to zero. What that costs depends mostly on premiums. For a 60-year-old couple it ranges from about $10,762 a year in New York to $46,714 in Wyoming.
Reviewed by RuleCost Editorial Team. Rules for 2027, updated 30 Sept 2026.
How to use it
- 1Find your state in the table and open it for the details.
- 2Enter your household size, expected income and benchmark premium in the calculator below.
- 3Read how far you are from the cliff and what crossing it would cost.
What the cliff costs a 60-year-old couple, by state
| State | Premium / mo | Lost / yr |
|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | $4,630 | $46,714 |
| West Virginia | $4,558 | $45,850 |
| Alaska | $4,384 | $41,550 |
| Connecticut | $3,696 | $35,506 |
| Arkansas | $3,288 | $30,610 |
| Tennessee | $3,020 | $27,394 |
| Nebraska | $3,016 | $27,346 |
| Maine | $3,012 | $27,298 |
| Montana | $2,940 | $26,434 |
| Delaware | $2,934 | $26,362 |
| Florida | $2,900 | $25,954 |
| Kansas | $2,846 | $25,306 |
| Texas | $2,808 | $24,850 |
| South Dakota | $2,782 | $24,538 |
| Illinois | $2,744 | $24,082 |
| Louisiana | $2,744 | $24,082 |
| North Carolina | $2,710 | $23,674 |
| New Mexico | $2,646 | $22,906 |
| Georgia | $2,612 | $22,498 |
| Washington | $2,600 | $22,354 |
| Vermont | $2,598 | $22,330 |
| Wisconsin | $2,596 | $22,306 |
| Missouri | $2,570 | $21,994 |
| Oklahoma | $2,566 | $21,946 |
| Kentucky | $2,506 | $21,226 |
| Pennsylvania | $2,430 | $20,314 |
| California | $2,420 | $20,194 |
| North Dakota | $2,420 | $20,194 |
| South Carolina | $2,396 | $19,906 |
| Colorado | $2,366 | $19,546 |
| New Jersey | $2,314 | $18,922 |
| Arizona | $2,260 | $18,274 |
| Michigan | $2,222 | $17,818 |
| Hawaii | $2,298 | $17,401 |
| Ohio | $2,178 | $17,290 |
| Rhode Island | $2,150 | $16,954 |
| Iowa | $2,128 | $16,690 |
| Nevada | $2,110 | $16,474 |
| Idaho | $2,082 | $16,138 |
| Indiana | $2,014 | $15,322 |
| Virginia | $1,932 | $14,338 |
| Maryland | $1,758 | $12,250 |
| New Hampshire | $1,704 | $11,602 |
| New York | $1,634 | $10,762 |
| Mississippi | — | See page |
| Alabama | — | See page |
| Utah | — | See page |
| District of Columbia | — | See page |
| Oregon | — | See page |
| Massachusetts | — | See page |
| Minnesota | — | See page |
Premium is the monthly benchmark for a couple, both 60, at the state's average, scaled from age 40 with the federal age curve (New York and Vermont charge every adult the same). Premiums are 2026 averages. 2027 premiums are published in late October, and insurers' proposed rates point to double-digit increases — which would make the cliff bigger, not smaller.
Questions
- Why did the ACA subsidy cliff come back?
- The enhanced premium tax credits from 2021 to 2025 capped premiums at 8.5% of income at every income level. They expired on 1 January 2026, so the original rule returned: no credit at all above 400% of the poverty line.
- Why does the cliff cost more in some states?
- The credit is the benchmark premium minus a fixed share of income. The income limit is the same in the lower 48 states, so where premiums are high the credit — and the amount lost at the cliff — is larger.
- Why are some states missing from the ranking?
- Alabama, DC, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oregon and Utah set their own age curves, so the federal age-60 ratio would be wrong there. Their pages use a 40-year-old couple instead.