The ACA affordability percentage for employer coverage is 9.96% for 2026 and 10.22% for 2027, the same in every state. How the family test works for spouses.
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It is one national number, not a state one: 9.96%% of household income for plan years beginning in 2026, and 10.22%% for 2027. If the cheapest employer plan that covers you costs more than that share of your household income, the law calls it unaffordable, and you can use the marketplace with a premium tax credit instead, if your income qualifies.
The table shows what that means in dollars: the most the cheapest employer plan can cost you each month and still count as affordable.
| Household income | Most an affordable plan can cost you, 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $332 | $340 |
| $60,000 | $498 | $511 |
| $80,000 | $664 | $681 |
| $100,000 | $830 | $851 |
| $150,000 | $1,245 | $1,277 |
Sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-25 (9.96%, plan years beginning in 2026) and Rev. Proc. 2026-26 (10.22%, 2027). Household income means modified adjusted gross income for everyone in the tax household. Checked October 5, 2026.
Since 2023 there are two tests, not one. You are tested on what employee-only coverage costs. Your spouse and children are tested on what it costs to cover the whole family. So a job where your own coverage is cheap but adding the family is expensive can leave you on the employer plan and your family on the marketplace with a tax credit, if your household income qualifies.
That is worth checking every year if your family is on a spouse’s plan: family premiums have risen faster than wages, and the line moves to 10.22% for 2027. More on that situation: when employer family coverage is too expensive.
The affordability test comes from the federal tax code, so Texas and Maryland use the same 9.96%. What does change by state is the other side of the comparison: what a marketplace plan costs, and how much of it a tax credit covers. A family that fails the affordability test in a cheap state might save little by switching; in an expensive state the same switch can be worth thousands. Benchmark prices in all 23 states · what full price takes out of your income above the subsidy line.
Employers with 50 or more full-time employees use the same percentage to check their own plans, usually through one of three safe harbors: the employee’s W-2 pay, their rate of pay, or the federal poverty line. On the poverty-line safe harbor, employee-only coverage is affordable for every employee if it costs no more than $129.89 a month in 2026 (9.96% of the $15,650 poverty line) or $135.92 in 2027 (10.22% of $15,960), in the 48 contiguous states. Smaller employers are not penalized either way, but the same test still decides whether their employees can get a tax credit instead.
9.96% of household income, for plan years that begin in 2026 (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-25). It is the same in every state.
10.22% of household income, for plan years that begin in 2027 (IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-26).
No. It is a federal tax rule, so it is the same everywhere. What differs by state is the price of marketplace coverage, which decides whether leaving an unaffordable employer plan is worth it.
They can if covering them is not affordable. Since 2023 the family is tested on what the family plan costs: if that is more than 9.96% of household income in 2026 (10.22% in 2027), your spouse and children can qualify for a marketplace tax credit, while you stay on your employer’s plan.
More: health insurance for business owners · premiums by age and state · Open Enrollment 2027 dates by state
A state average can’t tell you that. Enter your ZIP and a licensed agent will send you the real 2027 prices for your county as soon as they’re posted, and what you’d pay after any credit you qualify for. It costs nothing, and you deal with a licensed agent, not a call center.
Premiums are set county by county, so a state average tells you very little. Enter your ZIP and a licensed agent will send you the plans filed where you live.
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