Yes. The chart unlocks immediately after you enter your contact details. Unlocking it means a licensed insurance agent may follow up — that is what the consent covers. There is no cost, and no purchase is required.

Which year of poverty guidelines does the chart use?

The chart uses the 2025 HHS poverty guidelines, which are the ones used to determine subsidies for 2026 coverage — the marketplace always applies the prior year's guidelines to the coverage year. The figures are for the 48 contiguous states and DC; Alaska and Hawaii use higher guidelines. The thresholds are reference points, not eligibility determinations — your actual subsidy and Medicaid eligibility are set when you apply.

Does landing below a line guarantee I qualify?

No. The lines are the income thresholds, but eligibility also depends on factors the chart cannot show — whether your state expanded Medicaid, whether someone in your household has an affordable employer offer, your household composition, and your actual year-end income. Use the chart to see roughly where you fall, then run the subsidy estimator or apply through your marketplace for a binding answer.

Free guide · plan year 2026

2026 subsidy income eligibility chart

Updated for plan year 2026

Almost every rule about marketplace help is really a rule about one number: your household income measured against the federal poverty level for your household size. This chart turns that abstraction into dollars — the thresholds by household size for the lines that decide Medicaid, cost-sharing reductions, and the subsidy cliff. The figures use the 2025 HHS poverty guidelines, the ones in force for 2026 coverage, for the 48 contiguous states and DC.

What’s inside

A dollar grid for household sizes one through eight, showing the annual income at each key poverty-level line — 100%, 138%, 150%, 250%, and 400%
What the 100% line means: the poverty reference point, and where the coverage gap opens in states that did not expand Medicaid
The 138% Medicaid expansion line — where Medicaid generally hands off to subsidized marketplace coverage in expansion states
The 150% and 250% cost-sharing lines: the income band where silver-plan cost-sharing reductions are strongest and where they end
The 400% subsidy cliff for 2026, and why income near that line is worth estimating carefully

Who it’s for: For anyone estimating where their household income falls on the subsidy scale before they shop — and for pairing with the FPL calculator and subsidy estimator.

How it works

The chart rests on one calculation repeated across household sizes. The federal poverty level for a household of one is $15,650 in the 2025 guidelines used for 2026 coverage (48 contiguous states and DC); each additional person adds $5,500. Every threshold in the chart is that base figure multiplied by a percentage.

The 100% line is the poverty level itself — the reference everything else is measured against. In states that expanded Medicaid, this is roughly where Medicaid hands off to marketplace subsidies; in states that did not expand, income below 100% can fall into a coverage gap, under the Medicaid limit but under the floor for marketplace help too.

The 138% line is the Medicaid expansion threshold: in expansion states, adults with income up to 133% — effectively 138% after a standard disregard — generally qualify for Medicaid rather than a subsidized plan.

The 150% and 250% lines bracket cost-sharing reductions. Below 150%, the extra savings attached to silver plans are at their most generous; the help continues in smaller steps up to 250%, where it ends. Cost-sharing reductions apply only if you choose a silver plan.

The 400% line is the subsidy cliff. For 2026, the premium tax credit phases out above 400% of the poverty level — just under the line your premium is capped at a share of income, and crossing it can drop the credit to zero.

The premium subsidy itself is the gap between a benchmark silver plan in your area and a set share of your income, so a lower income or a higher local benchmark means a larger credit. Whatever line you land near, the figure that governs is your actual year-end income, reconciled on your tax return.

All figures you compute using this chart are estimates for comparison, not quotes. Actual premiums, subsidies, and eligibility are determined at enrollment. The Insurance Guide is independent — not HealthCare.gov, a state marketplace, an insurer, or a government agency.

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Frequently asked questions

Is this chart free?: Yes. The chart unlocks immediately after you enter your contact details. Unlocking it means a licensed insurance agent may follow up — that is what the consent covers. There is no cost, and no purchase is required.
Which year of poverty guidelines does the chart use?: The chart uses the 2025 HHS poverty guidelines, which are the ones used to determine subsidies for 2026 coverage — the marketplace always applies the prior year's guidelines to the coverage year. The figures are for the 48 contiguous states and DC; Alaska and Hawaii use higher guidelines. The thresholds are reference points, not eligibility determinations — your actual subsidy and Medicaid eligibility are set when you apply.
Does landing below a line guarantee I qualify?: No. The lines are the income thresholds, but eligibility also depends on factors the chart cannot show — whether your state expanded Medicaid, whether someone in your household has an affordable employer offer, your household composition, and your actual year-end income. Use the chart to see roughly where you fall, then run the subsidy estimator or apply through your marketplace for a binding answer.