Who Qualifies for an ACA Subsidy in South Carolina in 2027?

If you buy your own health insurance in South Carolina, a premium tax credit can lower what you pay each month. For 2027, you generally qualify if your household income is between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level: $15,960 to $63,840 for a single person, or $33,000 to $132,000 for a family of four.

You also need to buy your plan through HealthCare.gov and not be eligible for Medicare, Medicaid or affordable employer coverage.

That upper limit is new again. From 2021 through 2025, enhanced credits meant no one lost help just for earning too much. Those enhanced credits expired after 2025, so for 2027 a household earning even a dollar over 400% of the federal poverty level pays full price, unless Congress changes the law. As of November 8, 2026, it has not.

• Your income is below 100% of the federal poverty level (under $15,960 for a single person). You generally can't get a Marketplace credit. It's still worth filling out an application.
• Your income is between 100% and 250%. You generally qualify for a tax credit. If you pick a silver plan, you also get cost-sharing reductions.
• Your income is between 250% and 400%. You generally qualify for a tax credit. If you're near 400%, estimate your 2027 income carefully.
• Your income is over 400%. There is no credit, unless Congress changes the law.

Find your household size in the table below. 2027 Marketplace coverage uses the 2026 federal poverty guidelines. Use your expected 2027 household income, not last year's.

What counts as income: the Marketplace counts modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) for you, your spouse and anyone you claim as a tax dependent. That includes wages, self-employment profit, most Social Security benefits, interest, dividends and retirement withdrawals. It isn't your take-home pay.

You can generally get a premium tax credit for 2027 if all of these are true:

• Your income is between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level for your household size.
• You enroll through the Marketplace. In South Carolina that's HealthCare.gov, an agent working with HealthCare.gov, or an approved enrollment site. Plans bought directly from an insurance company off the Marketplace don't qualify.
• You can't get other qualifying coverage, such as Medicare, Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
• Any job-based coverage offered to you is unaffordable or doesn't meet minimum value. For 2027, employee-only coverage is considered unaffordable if it costs more than 10.22% of household income.
• You file a federal tax return, and married couples generally file jointly.
• Your immigration status qualifies. KFF reports that beginning in 2027, premium tax credits are limited to citizens and certain statuses, including lawful permanent residents, Cuban and Haitian entrants and Compact of Free Association migrants. Some other lawfully present immigrants, such as refugees and asylees, are no longer eligible for the credit.

South Carolina did not expand Medicaid. Adults with income below 100% of the federal poverty level (under $15,960 for a single person) generally can't get a Marketplace credit, and many don't qualify for South Carolina Medicaid either.

It's still worth filling out an application, because children, pregnant women and people with disabilities may qualify for Medicaid or CHIP. If your income will rise above 100% of the federal poverty level during the year, contact the Marketplace within 60 days.

The premium tax credit fills the gap between two numbers:

• The price of the plan your tax credit is based on: the second-lowest-cost silver plan available to your household in your county.
• Your expected contribution: a percentage of your income set by the IRS each year.

The table below shows those percentages for 2027.

What that means for you: you can use the credit on any bronze, silver or gold plan. If you choose a plan that costs less than the plan your tax credit is based on, you pay less than your expected contribution, sometimes $0. If you choose one that costs more, you pay the difference.

Your credit isn't based on the plan you pick. It's based on one silver plan where you live and the ages of the people in your household. Because those prices vary by county and climb with age, two South Carolinians with the same income can get very different amounts of help.

For 2027, the price of that plan rose in every one of South Carolina's 46 counties, with an average increase of 24.8% for a 40-year-old. The table below shows the plan and its full price in a few counties.

Two things follow from this.

First, a higher price on that plan means a bigger credit for people who qualify, so many people who get a tax credit are shielded from much of the 2027 rate increase.

Second, the plan itself changed in many counties this year. If your current plan used to be the one credits were based on and no longer is, your price after your tax credit can rise even though your income didn't change. We tell clients to check before they auto-renew. See Don't Auto-Renew and 2027 rate changes by county.

These are simplified estimates using the 2027 IRS percentages and our county data. They assume no tobacco use and no employer coverage offer. Your real numbers will come from HealthCare.gov when you apply.

1. A single 40-year-old in Sumter earning $22,000

• Income is about 138% of the federal poverty level, so the expected contribution is about 3.5% of income, roughly $65 a month.
• The plan the credit is based on costs $709 in Sumter, so the credit is about $644 a month.
• The lowest-cost bronze plan in Sumter is $479, so after the credit it could cost $0.
• The silver plan the credit is based on would cost about $65 a month, and at this income it comes with the strongest cost-sharing reductions, which lower the deductible and copays.

2. A single 40-year-old in Richland earning $39,000

• Income is about 244% of the federal poverty level, so the expected contribution is about 8.4% of income, roughly $275 a month.
• The plan the credit is based on costs $685 in Richland, so the credit is about $411 a month.
• The lowest-cost bronze plan ($471) would cost about $60 a month. Silver would come with modest cost-sharing reductions, because income is just under 250% of the federal poverty level. See our Richland County page for every plan.

3. A single 60-year-old in Lexington: the 400% cutoff in action

• At $63,000 (about 395% of the federal poverty level), the expected contribution is 10.22% of income, about $537 a month. The plan the credit is based on costs $1,495 for a 60-year-old in Lexington, so the credit is about $958 a month, roughly $11,500 a year.
• At $64,000 (about 401% of the federal poverty level), there is no credit. The same plan costs the full $1,495 a month, about $17,900 a year.

Earning $1,000 more costs this person about $11,500 in lost help. Early retirees in their late 50s and early 60s feel the cutoff most, because their full-price premiums are highest. See Retiring Before 65 in South Carolina.

4. A married couple, both 40, in Greenwood

• At $86,000 (about 397% of the federal poverty level for two), they're expected to pay about $732 a month. The plan the credit is based on costs about $1,409 for two 40-year-olds, so the credit is about $677 a month, roughly $8,100 a year.
• At $87,000 (about 402% of the federal poverty level), the credit drops to $0.

Greenwood is one of South Carolina's counties with two insurance companies, and the price of the plan its credits are based on rose 41.6% for 2027, which makes the cutoff steeper there. More in The Subsidy Cliff Is Back.

What 2026 looked like. For comparison, with enhanced credits still in place, the average Richland County enrollee paid $131 a month after credits for 2026, against an average full premium of $649. Many households will see a noticeably different number on their 2027 renewal.

If your income is between 100% and 250% of the federal poverty level and you pick a silver plan, you also get cost-sharing reductions. These don't lower your premium. They lower your deductible, copays and the yearly limit on what you pay.

The table below shows how much of average costs a silver plan pays at each income level.

What that means for you: a standard silver plan pays about 70% of average costs. At the 94% and 87% levels, silver often works better than gold for less money. Cost-sharing reductions only come with silver plans, so if you're in this range and choose bronze or gold, you leave them on the table. Read our guide to cost-sharing reductions on silver plans.

Most people take the credit in advance, so it's paid straight to the insurance company each month. When you file your taxes, IRS Form 8962 compares what you received with what you were actually owed based on your real income.

That comparison has more teeth now. Starting with tax year 2026, the IRS requires you to repay the full amount of any excess advance credit. The old caps that limited repayment for lower- and middle-income households no longer apply. And if your actual income ends up over 400% of the federal poverty level, you could owe back every dollar of credit you received.

To protect yourself:

• Estimate 2027 income carefully, especially if you're self-employed or paid on commission.
• Report income and household changes to the Marketplace during the year so your credit adjusts.
• If you're near 400% of the federal poverty level, ask a CPA whether pre-tax retirement or health savings account (HSA) contributions could lower your modified adjusted gross income.

Our guide to estimating 2027 income walks through it step by step. Self-employed? See our self-employed health insurance guide and 1099 Contractors: How to Deduct Health Insurance Premiums. Small employers can also look at an ICHRA.

This section is general information, not tax advice. Talk with a CPA about your situation.

Your tax credit depends on your county, ages, income and household, and you find out by running your actual details. Our licensed agents in Irmo do this for families across South Carolina every day.

Open enrollment runs through January 15, 2027, and you need to enroll by December 15 for a January 1 start. More on 2027 open enrollment dates.

For insurance companies, prices and networks across the state, see our South Carolina Health Insurance 2027 guide.