Do people who make over $500K per year qualify for Affordable Care Act subsidies?

Individuals and households that make over $500,000 per year are no longer eligible for subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.

Until it expired in December 2025, temporary legislation removed income caps for who qualifies for subsidies.

The American Rescue Plan, a stimulus law signed in 2021 by former President Joe Biden in response to the COVID pandemic, removed the income cap, but the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 extended the enhanced subsidies until 2025. It also ensured that enrollees paid no more than 8.5% of their household income toward coverage.

Standard subsidy rules returned when Congress did not extend the enhancements at the end of 2025. Only households that make 100-400% of the federal poverty line qualify for subsidies. The poverty line for a family of four in 2026 is $33,000.

In 2026, a family of four is not eligible for subsidies if its household income is over $132,000.