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Two inputs, honest arithmetic, and a plain explanation of the bands underneath. Use it to get to a better question, not to a final answer.
An estimate for planning, not a quote. HealthCare.gov sets your real credit.
Free tool · subsidy estimate
Two inputs, the same two the Marketplace starts from.
Include everyone you claim, even someone who does not need coverage.
Self-employed? Start from Schedule C net profit, not gross receipts.
235% of the federal poverty level
$20,440 is the guideline for a household of 2.
Silver CSR applies
No CSR above 250%
Rough monthly premium tax credit
$879
applied straight to the premium, before you are billed
200% to 250% FPL. Roughly 2% to 4% of income. This is the last band where silver cost-sharing reductions apply at all.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| Band | Expected contribution | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 150% FPL | 0% | Your expected contribution is effectively zero, so the benchmark silver plan can land at $0 a month. |
| 150% to 200% FPL | 0% to 2% | You are expected to pay from nothing up to about 2% of income. Silver plans also carry the strongest cost-sharing reductions here. |
| 200% to 250% FPL | 2% to 4% | Roughly 2% to 4% of income. This is the last band where silver cost-sharing reductions apply at all. |
| 250% to 300% FPL | 4% to 6% | Roughly 4% to 6% of income. Cost-sharing reductions have stopped, so the silver advantage disappears. |
| 300% to 400% FPL | 6% to 8.5% | Roughly 6% to 8.5% of income. Bronze and gold both become worth a serious look here. |
| Above 400% FPL | 8.5% | Your contribution is capped at about 8.5% of income under the current enhanced rules. If those rules lapse, this band loses its credit entirely. |
An estimate for planning, not a quote. HealthCare.gov sets your real credit.
The Marketplace applies the guideline for the year your coverage starts.
Your real benchmark depends on your county, the ages on the application and the plan year.
Our estimator simplifies two things. Here is what the Marketplace does instead, so you know exactly where the gap is.
Your credit is pegged to the second-lowest-cost silver plan in your rating area, priced for the actual ages on your application. We use a fixed benchmark instead, so our number moves for the right reasons but will not match to the dollar.
Premiums are age-rated, and a 60-year-old can be charged up to three times a 21-year-old's rate. We price extra household members at flat amounts, which is close enough to show the shape and no closer.
An affordable employer offer, Medicaid or CHIP eligibility, immigration status and tax filing status can all change the answer. The Marketplace checks those. A calculator cannot.
01
A retainer ends, a contract lands, you take a W-2 job in August, or a quiet quarter turns into a busy one. For a 1099 earner this is normal, not an emergency.
The Marketplace set your advance credit from an estimate you made months ago. It does not update itself, and nobody is watching your bank account.
02
Update your application at HealthCare.gov, ideally within 30 days. You can also call us and we will do it with you on a screen share.
Reporting a raise lowers your monthly credit now. That feels bad in September and feels very good in April. Reporting a drop raises it immediately, which is real money back in your month.
03
The advance premium tax credit is recalculated from the new estimate and applied from the next available coverage month.
Changing the estimate does not change your plan, your deductible or your doctors. It only changes how much of the premium is paid in advance on your behalf.
04
The Marketplace sends Form 1095-A in January. Your preparer uses it to complete Form 8962, which compares the credit you received against the credit your actual income earned.
Took too much, you repay the difference. Took too little, it comes back as a refundable credit. Repayment is capped at certain income levels, but above 400% of the federal poverty level the repayment is generally uncapped.
05
A deductible retirement contribution lowers modified adjusted gross income, which raises the credit you were entitled to.
A SEP-IRA or solo 401(k) contribution is the classic one for self-employed households. We are not tax advisers, so we flag it and your CPA runs the numbers.
Your estimated household income is compared to the federal poverty level for your household size. That gives a percentage of income you are expected to contribute. The credit is the difference between that expected contribution and the cost of the second-lowest-cost silver plan in your rating area, which is called the benchmark plan.
To any metal level except catastrophic. The benchmark is a silver plan, but you can take the credit to bronze or gold. Cost-sharing reductions are different: those only attach to silver.
A silent upgrade to a silver plan for households under 250% of the federal poverty level. The plan's actuarial value rises to roughly 73%, 87% or 94% depending on your income band, which means a lower deductible and a lower out-of-pocket maximum for the same premium. Buy bronze instead and you leave it behind.
Report it to the Marketplace, ideally within 30 days. Your monthly credit drops, and you avoid repaying a year's worth of excess credit on Form 8962 at tax time. Repayment is capped at some income levels; above 400% of the federal poverty level it is generally uncapped.
No. Nothing updates itself. Report the drop and your credit goes up from the next available coverage month, which is money back in your month right away. You may also newly qualify for cost-sharing reductions, which would be a reason to move to silver.
Tennessee has not expanded Medicaid, so there is a coverage gap below the level at which Marketplace subsidies begin. We will tell you plainly where you fall and help you check TennCare and CoverKids eligibility rather than pretending a plan you cannot afford is a solution.
An estimate for planning, not a quote. HealthCare.gov sets your real credit.
We run it with your ages, your county and your real benchmark plan, then we enrol you if you want us to.
Our help is free to you. We are paid by the carrier you choose, and the premium is the same whether you use us or enrol on your own.
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