Deorbit Plan

2027 ACA numbers: FPL, applicable percentages, and the cliff

By the Deorbit Plan editorial team, a Berrydyne program · Last reviewed November 2026 · 5 min read

These are the marketplace (ACA) subsidy numbers for 2027 coverage. Three numbers drive the premium tax credit: your household’s federal poverty level (FPL), your MAGI as a percentage of it, and the applicable percentage. That last one is the share of income you are expected to pay toward the benchmark (second-cheapest silver) plan before the credit covers the rest[1]. The credit is available from 100% to 400% of FPL. One dollar of MAGI over 400% and it disappears entirely: this is the subsidy cliff[5].

One detail trips people up: 2027 coverage uses the 2026 poverty guidelines[2], the ones in effect when open enrollment for 2027 began (2026 coverage used the 2025 guidelines[4]).

For the year before, see 2026 ACA numbers. All the headline 2027 figures on one printable page: 2027 key retirement numbers.

2027 coverage: FPL and the 400% cliff by household size

Poverty guideline (48 contiguous states and D.C.) and the 400% income cliff, 2027 coverage beside 2026: $15,960 for one person plus $5,680 per additional person[2][4]. Alaska and Hawaii have their own, higher guidelines (not shown)[7].
Household size100% FPL, 2027400% cliff, 2026400% cliff, 2027Cliff change
1$15,960$62,600$63,840+$1,240
2$21,640$84,600$86,560+$1,960
3$27,320$106,600$109,280+$2,680
4$33,000$128,600$132,000+$3,400
5$38,680$150,600$154,720+$4,120
6$44,360$172,600$177,440+$4,840
7$50,040$194,600$200,160+$5,560
8$55,720$216,600$222,880+$6,280

MAGI below 100% of FPL generally gets no premium credit (in Medicaid-expansion states those incomes go to Medicaid instead), and MAGI above 400% gets nothing at all[5].

The 2027 applicable percentage table

Required contribution toward the benchmark silver plan, as a percentage of MAGI; within each band the percentage rises linearly from the initial to the final figure[1][3].
MAGI as % of FPL2026 initial to final2027 initial to final
Less than 133%2.10% – 2.10%2.15% – 2.15%
133% up to 150%3.14% – 4.19%3.23% – 4.30%
150% up to 200%4.19% – 6.60%4.30% – 6.78%
200% up to 250%6.60% – 8.44%6.78% – 8.66%
250% up to 300%8.44% – 9.96%8.66% – 10.22%
300% up to 400%9.96% – 9.96%10.22% – 10.22%

Reading it: credit = benchmark premium − (applicable % × MAGI), never below zero. A two-person household at exactly 400% of FPL ($86,560 for 2027 coverage) is expected to contribute 10.22% of income ($8,846 a year), and the credit covers any benchmark cost above that[1]. At $86,561 the credit is zero, and any advance credit already paid is repaid at tax time.

How the numbers interact

MAGI for this test is AGI plus tax-exempt interest, untaxed Social Security and excluded foreign income[6], so Roth conversions, capital gains, dividends and pre-tax withdrawals all count against the cliff, while Roth withdrawals and spending cash do not. Premiums are age-rated, so the cliff costs most for people in their late 50s and early 60s bridging to Medicare. For anyone retiring before 65 the ACA years and the IRMAA lookback years overlap: income planned for one test lands in the other’s window two years later.

Try it in Deorbit Plan

The simulator still uses 2026 rules. Its tax engine is built on the 2026 figures and indexes them along each simulated inflation path; the 2027 figures on this page are published for reference and will become the simulator’s base when it rolls over to 2027.

The simulator computes the subsidy for every pre-65 year, with the interpolated applicable percentage, an age-rated benchmark premium and the hard 400% cliff. It takes the household size from your filing status. The Taxes & MAGI chart draws the 400%-FPL line against your MAGI path, and the Strategy panel’s cliff-margin guard keeps fill-bracket Roth conversions a chosen buffer below it.

This page explains how the rules work. It is not financial, tax or investment advice. Read the disclaimer.

See how this plays out with your own numbers. Try it in the simulator →

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