At 300 percent of the federal poverty level, a single person in the 48 contiguous states can earn up to $47,880 in 2026 and still sit inside the income band that federal programs use as an eligibility ceiling or a tier boundary. The figure comes from tripling the base poverty guideline the Department of Health and Human Services publishes each January. It matters most for people buying health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, because it’s the line where premium subsidies shrink and out-of-pocket protections drop by a step.1HealthCare.gov. Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
2026 Dollar Thresholds by Household Size
For the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia, the 2026 base guideline is $15,960 for one person, and each additional household member adds $5,680 before the multiplier is applied.2U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2026 Poverty Guidelines Multiplying by three gives the 300 percent threshold:
- 1 person: $47,880
- 2 people: $64,920
- 3 people: $81,960
- 4 people: $99,000
- 5 people: $116,040
- 6 people: $133,080
Alaska and Hawaii have separate tables. Alaska’s 2026 single-person guideline is $19,950, putting 300 percent at $59,850, with a per-person increment of $7,100. Hawaii’s single-person guideline is $18,360, or $55,080 at 300 percent, with a per-person increment of $6,530.2U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
How Your Household and Income Are Counted
Whether you actually cross the 300 percent line depends on two counts: who’s in your household and what income the program looks at.
For most programs tied to the poverty guidelines, your household is you, your spouse if you file jointly, and anyone you claim as a dependent on your federal return. A child under 19, or a full-time student under 24, generally counts if they live with you for more than half the year.3Internal Revenue Service. Dependents One extra person raises the 300 percent ceiling by about $17,000 in the contiguous states, so the count is worth getting right.
The income figure programs compare against the threshold is usually your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI). MAGI starts with the adjusted gross income from your tax return and adds back three things that would otherwise slip out of view: untaxed foreign income, non-taxable Social Security benefits, and tax-exempt interest.4HealthCare.gov. Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) Municipal bond interest and Social Security you assumed wouldn’t count both do. AGI itself already includes wages, pensions, unemployment, capital gains, and business income after Schedule C expenses. Traditional IRA contributions and the deductible portion of self-employment tax bring AGI down before the MAGI add-backs.
If your income swings year to year, the number that counts is your total for the specific tax year, not a running average.
What 300 Percent Means for ACA Premium Tax Credits
The premium tax credit is a sliding subsidy for coverage bought through the marketplace. The closer your income is to 100 percent of the poverty level, the smaller the share of income you’re expected to put toward premiums. Between 300 and 400 percent of the poverty level, your expected contribution is capped at roughly 9.96 percent of household income toward a benchmark Silver plan.1HealthCare.gov. Federal Poverty Level (FPL) If the benchmark plan costs more than that, the credit covers the rest.
For someone at exactly 300 percent, the credit can still be worth thousands of dollars a year in high-premium areas. You can take it as an advance payment against your monthly bill or claim the lump sum when you file.
What 300 Percent Means for Cost-Sharing Reductions
Cost-sharing reductions are separate from the premium credit. They lower deductibles, copays, and the annual out-of-pocket maximum for people who enroll in a Silver-level marketplace plan. The 300 percent mark is a specific breakpoint in the statute.
Between 200 and 300 percent of the poverty level, your out-of-pocket maximum is cut in half. Between 300 and 400 percent, the cut drops to one-third.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 18071 – Reduced Cost-Sharing for Individuals Enrolling in Qualified Health Plans The larger actuarial-value boost that helps people below 250 percent has already phased out by the time you reach 300 percent, so crossing the line changes only the out-of-pocket cap. For a household dealing with chronic conditions, that step alone can mean several thousand dollars of added exposure in a bad year.
Repayment Risk When You Estimate Your Income
When you enroll in a marketplace plan, you estimate your income for the year. If you guessed $47,000 and finished the year at $52,000, you took more advance premium tax credit than you were entitled to. You reconcile the difference on IRS Form 8962 at tax time. For tax years after 2025, there is no cap on the repayment. The full excess is added to your tax bill or taken from your refund.6Internal Revenue Service. Questions and Answers on the Premium Tax Credit
The risk is sharpest near 300 percent because a modest bump can shrink your premium credit and worsen your cost-sharing tier at once. A year-end bonus, a stock sale, or a spouse picking up extra hours can push you across the line you planned around. Reporting income changes to the marketplace as they happen lets the system adjust your advance payments during the year, which shrinks the reconciliation bill in April.
How 300 Percent Shows Up in CHIP
The Children’s Health Insurance Program covers kids in families that earn too much for Medicaid but can’t easily afford private coverage. There is no national CHIP income cutoff. State ceilings run from about 170 percent to 400 percent of the poverty level.7Medicaid. CHIP Eligibility and Enrollment
The 300 percent figure enters CHIP through a different door. Federal law requires states to maintain their existing Medicaid and CHIP eligibility levels for children in families earning below 300 percent of the poverty level as a condition of receiving enhanced federal CHIP funding.8Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission. Low-Income Children If your state sets its CHIP ceiling at or near 300 percent, a family of four earning up to $99,000 in 2026 could qualify for children’s coverage that typically includes dental, vision, preventive care, and hospital visits at little or no cost. Your state marketplace or Medicaid agency has the exact threshold.
The Other “300 Percent” You’ll See in Medicaid
Medicaid eligibility for nursing homes and institutional care sometimes references a “300 percent rule.” That threshold is not 300 percent of the federal poverty level. It’s 300 percent of the Supplemental Security Income federal benefit rate, which works out to roughly 222 percent of the poverty level.9Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission. Eligibility for Long-Term Services and Supports If you’re researching Medicaid for a nursing home or a home-and-community-based waiver, confirm which “300 percent” your state is using, because the dollar amounts differ substantially.
Legal aid programs and federal court fee waivers also use their own standards, and 300 percent is not one of them. Legal Services Corporation-funded aid caps at 125 percent of the poverty guidelines for most matters and 200 percent for a narrower set of housing, benefits, and Social Security cases.10eCFR. 45 CFR Part 1611 – Financial Eligibility Bankruptcy fee waivers cap at 150 percent. Neither program treats 300 percent as a relevant number.
Reporting Mid-Year Changes
Because so many benefits hinge on where your income sits against the poverty line, a mid-year change can ripple across several of them at once. A raise, an inheritance, or a new side business can shrink your marketplace subsidy, push you into a worse cost-sharing tier, and change your kids’ CHIP status in the same month.
Report significant income or household changes to your marketplace promptly. The marketplace can adjust your advance premium tax credit in real time, and reporting a new baby or a dependent leaving the household shifts the poverty threshold that applies to you. At tax time, every one of these programs measures your annual income against the guidelines in effect for that year. The 2026 guidelines govern 2026 marketplace coverage; Medicaid and CHIP may adopt new figures on a slightly different schedule depending on the state.