ACA tax credits in Colorado for 2026 and 2027

If you buy a plan through the Colorado marketplace, a federal premium tax credit can lower your monthly premium when your household income is between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. The enhanced credits Congress added for 2021 through 2025 expired on December 31, 2025 and had not been restored as of October 2026, so for 2026 you are expected to pay between 2.10% and 9.96% of your income toward a benchmark Silver plan (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-25, irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-25.pdf), and for 2027 between 2.15% and 10.22% (IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-26, irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-26-26.pdf). Above 400% of the poverty level there is no federal credit at all. Colorado adds its own help, Colorado Premium Assistance, for qualifying households between 100% and 400%, and that state help continues for 2027. This guide shows the tables, then works the numbers in dollars so you can see where a household gains or loses help.

Three kinds of help, and who gets each

The Colorado Division of Insurance reports that Colorado funded extra reinsurance and Colorado Premium Assistance in the August 2025 special session (HB25B-1006) and continued it in 2026 with SB26-178 (Colorado Division of Insurance, July 22, 2026, doi.colorado.gov/news-releases-consumer-advisories/aca-health-insurance-premiums-for-individuals-expected-to). The Colorado marketplace says the state help reached more than 176,000 customers in 2026 and continues for 2027.

The Colorado marketplace describes how the state amount is set: it equals $80 for the first household member and $29 for each additional household member who pays a premium, or the total premium left after the federal credit, whichever is smaller. It is applied automatically, you do not claim it on your taxes or count it as income, and if a change in income ends your eligibility you do not pay back state help already received (The Colorado marketplace). The marketplace confirms the amount for your household when you apply, and the 2027 figures are set by the marketplace.

What changed when the enhanced credits expired

• The 400% cliff is back. From 2021 to 2025 there was no upper income limit. Since January 1, 2026, a household one dollar above 400% of the poverty level gets no federal credit.
• The expected share of income rose. Under the enhanced rules some households paid 0% and nobody paid more than 8.5%. In 2026 the range is 2.10% to 9.96%, and in 2027 it is 2.15% to 10.22%.
• Repayment caps are gone. Starting with tax year 2026, if your advance credit turns out too large, you repay the full excess when you file (IRS, irs.gov/tax-professionals/eitc-central/repayment-caps-eliminated-for-excess-advance-payments-of-the-premium-tax-credit). Before 2026 the repayment was capped for incomes under 400%. This makes an accurate income estimate, and reporting changes promptly, far more important.
• Colorado felt it. The Division of Insurance said that the expiration resulted in a doubling of premium costs on average for hundreds of thousands of Coloradans in the individual market for 2026.
• State help softened 2027. The Division estimates financially assisted customers will see a net premium increase of about $20 a month from 2026 to 2027 thanks to Colorado Premium Assistance, against about $69 a month without it (Colorado Division of Insurance, September 22, 2026, doi.colorado.gov/news-releases-consumer-advisories/division-of-insurance-announces-final-aca-health-insurance).

The poverty levels that set your credit

The marketplace measures your income against the federal poverty guidelines published the January before your coverage year. 2026 coverage uses the 2025 guidelines; 2027 coverage uses the 2026 guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS ASPE, aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines).

The expected-contribution tables for 2026 and 2027

Within each band the percentage slides up in a straight line as income rises. The credit equals the price of the second-lowest-cost Silver plan in your area (the benchmark) minus your expected contribution. You can apply the credit to any metal level.

How the credit is calculated, in five steps

• Estimate household income as modified adjusted gross income: adjusted gross income plus untaxed foreign income, non-taxable Social Security benefits and tax-exempt interest. Count both taxable and non-taxable Social Security, and most IRA and 401(k) withdrawals; qualified Roth distributions are not counted (CMS).
• Count your tax household: the tax filer, a spouse and tax dependents, including a spouse or dependent who does not need coverage (CMS).
• Divide income by the poverty guideline for that household size to get your percentage of FPL.
• Find your expected share of income in the IRS table for your coverage year, and multiply it by your income. Divide by 12 for the monthly figure.
• Subtract that monthly figure from the benchmark Silver premium for the people enrolling. What is left is your monthly credit. If the benchmark costs less than your expected contribution, there is no credit.

Expected contributions at four incomes

These use the same math as our subsidy calculator. They show what you would be expected to pay toward the benchmark plan; the credit covers the rest of the benchmark's price, whatever the benchmark costs in your county.

A fully worked 2027 credit, in dollars

Hypothetical Colorado household, not a real client. A single adult in southern Weld County (rating area 6) expects 2027 income of $30,000. The 2027 poverty line for one person is $15,960, so the income is about 188% of FPL. That falls in the 150% to 200% band, where the 2027 share slides from 4.30% to 6.78%: at 188% it is about 6.18%, or $1,855 a year, which is about $155 a month.

The benchmark price comes from the marketplace for this person's age and ZIP code. To keep the arithmetic honest, this example uses Colorado's 2026 average full marketplace premium, $673 a month per enrollee, as a stand-in (CMS 2026 OEP State-Level Public Use File, cms.gov/files/zip/2026-oep-state-level-public-use-file.zip). A real benchmark for an older adult is usually higher, and for a younger adult lower.

What happens if your income comes in higher

The credit you receive each month is an advance, based on your estimate. At tax time, Form 8962 compares it with the credit you actually qualified for. Take the same hypothetical person: they estimated $30,000 but a new job pushed 2027 income to $45,000, about 282% of FPL. At 282% the 2027 share is about 9.66%, or $362 a month, so the right credit on the $673 stand-in benchmark was about $311 a month, not $518.

Over twelve months that is about $6,221 received against about $3,730 earned, a gap of roughly $2,491. Because repayment caps no longer apply from tax year 2026, the whole gap is repaid with the tax return. Reporting the new job to the Colorado marketplace within 30 days would have reset the credit for the rest of the year and shrunk that bill. The Colorado Premium Assistance received is not paid back.

The 400% cliff, in dollars

Hypothetical Colorado household, not a real client. A married couple in Adams County expects 2027 income of exactly $86,560, which is 400% of the poverty line for two. At 400% they are expected to pay 10.22% of income, $8,846 a year or about $737 a month. Using two times the $673 stand-in, $1,346 a month, their federal credit would be about $609 a month, roughly $7,306 for the year, and Colorado Premium Assistance could add up to $109 a month more.

Add one dollar of income and the federal credit and the state help both disappear. At $86,561 the couple pays the full stand-in price, $16,152 for the year, so one extra dollar of income costs them about $7,306 in federal credit plus up to $1,308 in state help. This is why the timing of a Roth conversion, a capital gain or a year-end bonus matters so much for households near the line, and why a traditional IRA or HSA contribution that lowers modified adjusted gross income can be worth far more than its tax deduction alone.

How to avoid a surprise at tax time

• Estimate income the way the IRS defines it: modified adjusted gross income, which adds back untaxed foreign income, tax-exempt interest and non-taxable Social Security benefits.
• Count everyone in your tax household, including dependents, and only them.
• Report raises, job changes, marriages, divorces and new babies to the Colorado marketplace within 30 days.
• If your income is close to 400%, plan ahead. A traditional IRA or HSA contribution can lower modified adjusted gross income; a large Roth conversion or capital gain can push you over the cliff.
• Keep Form 1095-A when it arrives. You need it to file Form 8962 and reconcile your credit.

Employer coverage and the affordability test

If a job offers you coverage that is affordable and meets minimum value, you cannot get a premium tax credit for yourself. For 2026, job coverage is affordable if your share of the lowest-cost self-only plan is 9.96% of household income or less; for 2027 the figure is 10.22%. Family members are tested separately using the cost of family coverage, which fixed the old family glitch in 2023.

Below the credit: Health First Colorado and CHP+

At the low end, Colorado's public programs usually take over from the tax credit. Health First Colorado covers adults without dependent children whose household income does not exceed 133% of the poverty level, and children 18 and under in households up to 142% (HCPF, hcpf.colorado.gov/programs-adults). CHP+ covers children and pregnant people in households under 260% (HCPF, hcpf.colorado.gov/chp). Because one the Colorado marketplace application screens for all three, a family can end up with parents on a tax-credit plan and children on CHP+ or Health First Colorado.

What Lisa checks for you

Lisa reviews the numbers before she reviews plans, because in 2026 and 2027 the income estimate decides more than the plan does.

• Your modified adjusted gross income estimate, line by line, including Social Security, IRA withdrawals and expected capital gains.
• Who belongs in your tax household, and who might be routed to Health First Colorado or CHP+ instead.
• How close you sit to the 133%, 250%, 260% and 400% lines, and what a raise, bonus or Roth conversion would do.
• Whether Colorado Premium Assistance is showing on your eligibility results, and for how many members.
• Whether a Silver plan with cost-sharing reductions beats a lower-premium Bronze plan over a full year of expected care.
• That the credit applied each month matches your current income, so the Form 8962 reconciliation does not bring a bill.

Questions to ask before you enroll

• What percentage of the poverty level is my 2027 estimate, and which band of the IRS table is that?
• What is my benchmark Silver premium, and what is my expected monthly contribution?
• How much Colorado Premium Assistance am I getting, and for which household members?
• Do I qualify for cost-sharing reductions, and which Silver plans carry them?
• If my income rises during the year, how quickly do I need to report it, and what would I owe if I did not?
• Does any job offer in my household count as affordable, and does that block a credit for me or my family?

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The bottom line

Your credit depends on three numbers: your 2027 household income estimate, your household size and the benchmark Silver price in your county. Get those right and the rest follows. If you are close to 400% of the poverty level, or your income is hard to predict because you are self-employed or newly retired, send Lisa a message or call (303) 887-8584 before you enroll. You can also run your numbers in our Compare Plans tool.