Ranked 10 of 17 states · median $773/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old tax preparer in Tennessee pays a median $773/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 10th of 17 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $646 from Ambetter of Tennessee in Fayette. On cheapest Silver at age 27, Tennessee ranks 16 of 17 for this occupation.
Desk-based work usually means low claim volume and a younger buyer, which makes a high-deductible plan paired with an HSA the mathematically better bet in most years. These pages rank states by what a healthy buyer actually pays at ages 27 and 40.
Occupational context: Extreme seasonal stress load; sedentary strain.
None of that changes your price. ACA plans in Tennessee are community rated — premium varies by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size only. Your occupation cannot be used to rate you, decline you, or exclude a condition. What it changes is which plan design is the right bet.
Premium is set by rating area, so a tax preparer in one Tennessee county can pay materially more than one an hour away. Six counties from across the state, cheapest Silver plan for a 40-year-old:
| County | Cheapest Silver @40 | Issuer | Deductible | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Van Buren | $776 | BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee | $8,100 | 3 |
| Hickman | $779 | Oscar | $6,000 | 4 |
| Maury | $779 | Oscar | $6,000 | 4 |
| Lauderdale | $646 | Ambetter of Tennessee | $6,000 | 5 |
| Cocke | $669 | Ambetter of Tennessee | $6,000 | 4 |
| Morgan | $669 | Ambetter of Tennessee | $6,000 | 4 |
The spread across just these six is $133/month — $1,595 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $646 to $1,001. Coverage by County publishes all 95 Tennessee counties individually.
| Tennessee — the age curve | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Cheapest Silver @27 | $530 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $646 |
| Cheapest Silver @60 | $1,372 |
| Cheapest Bronze @40 | $466 — BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee |
| Bronze deductible | $10,600 |
| Lowest deductible in state | $500 |
A 27-year-old tax preparer in Tennessee starts at $530; the same plan class at 60 starts at $1,372 — roughly 2.6× as much. If a Bronze plan here is HSA-qualified, the deduction plus low claim volume usually beats Silver on total annual cost. Confirm HSA eligibility on the plan document, not the metal tier.
Source: CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape file. 5,239 plan records across 95 Tennessee counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: South Dakota ($725), Oklahoma ($731), Kansas ($765). More expensive: Mississippi ($773), Florida ($789), Utah ($805).
Side-by-side: Tennessee vs Oklahoma · Tennessee vs Kansas · Tennessee vs Mississippi · Tennessee vs Florida
Read the comparison as context, not as a shopping list. Your county of residence determines what you can buy, and for a tax preparer that is fixed unless you relocate. Where it is actionable is a move already in progress — that is a qualifying life event, and you have 60 days on either side of it.
Deduction categories that generally fit this trade: Software, PTIN, E&O insurance, CE credits. Note the ordering problem with health premiums: the §162(l) deduction lowers your AGI, and your AGI is what sets your premium tax credit, so the two calculate against each other. That is a CPA conversation and worth having before you enroll, not after.
If your household income is above the subsidy range, ACA is not automatically the answer. There are other categories of coverage that may fit, and they work very differently. That is a conversation, not a web page.
The BLS median wage for Tax Preparers in Tennessee is $35,640 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $26,200. The middle half earn $27,570 to $59,090, and the top 10% more than $81,010. BLS counts about 1,280 people doing this work for an employer in Tennessee. The self-employed are not in the BLS survey, so this is the going rate for the work, not your own number.
The cheapest Silver plan for a 40-year-old in Tennessee is $646 per month from Ambetter of Tennessee, with a state median of $773. Both figures are full price before premium tax credits; most buyers pay less after subsidies.
No. Under the ACA, carriers cannot rate, decline, or exclude based on occupation or health history. Rates vary only by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size.
No. Only EPO plans were filed for 2026.
Tennessee ranks 10 of 17 states covered here, at a median $773 per month. Indiana is cheapest at $558 and Nebraska is most expensive at $875.
Below the cliff. At this income a single-person household remains eligible for a premium tax credit in 2027.
This occupation is below the cliff in all 23 states reported.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Tax Preparers (SOC 13-2082) in Tennessee. BLS surveys wage and salary workers and excludes the self-employed, so it is a benchmark for the occupation in this state — not the income of a self-employed tax preparer. Premium tax credit eligibility is set by household modified adjusted gross income and household size, not by occupation, so treat this as a reference point rather than a determination of what you qualify for.
Why the cliff is back. The enhanced premium tax credits expired on 31 December 2025. For plan year 2027 the 400% FPL limit applies again, so household income above $63,840 ends premium tax credit eligibility outright.
This page compares states. For Tennessee specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Tax Preparers in Tennessee and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
One of Tennessee’s 6 carriers is leaving. Cigna exits the individual market entirely on January 1, 2027, so if you are a tax preparer covered by them the question is not whether you switch but whether you choose the switch yourself.
On price the only honest number today is national: the Peterson-KFF read of 2027 filings puts the median proposed rise near 15%, spanning −1% to 54%. Final Tennessee rates are not approved, so any precise 2027 figure quoted for this state is guesswork.
Enrollment opens November 1, 2026. Treat December 15 as the deadline: it guarantees January 1 cover on every marketplace, Tennessee included. Conflicting end dates get quoted because a 2025 rule shortened the window and a court vacated it in June 2026, appeal pending — enrol by the 15th and the argument is irrelevant to you.
One thing 2027 will not fix: no PPO is sold anywhere in Tennessee. All 95 counties offer EPO plans only, so care outside the network is effectively emergency-only. If your work as a tax preparer crosses county lines, weigh that above the premium.
You already know you are changing plans — Cigna is leaving. The only real question is whether you pick the replacement or the marketplace picks it for you, and that is a much easier decision made now than in the second week of December.
Enter a ZIP and a licensed agent will tell you three things:
Rates for Tax Preparers in Tennessee are set by county, not by occupation. Start with your ZIP and a licensed agent will show you the plans actually filed where you live.
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