Federal poverty level
Updated for plan year 2026
In plain terms
The federal poverty level (FPL) is an income benchmark set each year by the Department of Health and Human Services and used to decide eligibility for marketplace subsidies, Medicaid, and other programs. Your income is expressed as a percentage of the FPL for your household size. Under the 2025 guidelines used for 2026 coverage, the level for a single person in the 48 contiguous states is $15,650, rising by $5,500 for each additional household member; Alaska and Hawaii use higher figures.
A plain example
A household of three uses the 2025 guideline of $15,650 plus two times $5,500, or $26,650, as 100 percent of the federal poverty level. If that household earns about $66,600 a year, it sits at roughly 250 percent of the FPL, the figure the marketplace uses to size its premium tax credit and to check for cost-sharing reductions.
Why it matters
Nearly every dollar of marketplace help is keyed to your percentage of the federal poverty level, so it's the hinge your subsidy turns on. Small income changes that move your percentage can change your credit, your access to cost-sharing reductions, or whether you qualify for Medicaid instead.
A common point of confusion
The FPL used for your coverage is the prior year's guideline, not the current year's, and it's higher in Alaska and Hawaii. People also confuse it with the local cost of living, but it's a flat federal figure by household size, not adjusted for your city.