What happened to the enhanced ACA premium tax credits?

June 16, 2026June 16, 2026

Short answer: The enhanced premium tax credits that boosted ACA Marketplace subsidies from 2021 onward expired on December 31, 2025. Average subsidized premium payments roughly doubled, and the “subsidy cliff” above 400% of the federal poverty line returned.

From 2021 through 2025, temporary “enhanced” premium tax credits made Marketplace coverage far cheaper: they increased subsidy amounts and removed the 400%-of-poverty income cap so that no one paid more than a set percentage of income.

Those enhancements expired at the end of 2025. As a result, average out-of-pocket premium payments for subsidized enrollees roughly doubled (one KFF estimate put it near $888 to $1,904 per year), and the income cliff returned: people earning just over 400% of the federal poverty line can again lose subsidies entirely.

One side effect: because higher earners may no longer get a subsidy, the old objection that an employer HRA “blocks my big subsidy” matters less, which has made ICHRA and QSEHRA more attractive.

Sources

KFF analysis of premium tax credit expiration; Employee Benefits KB (Market Context).

Content history
Originally published: June 16, 2026
Last reviewed: June 16, 2026

Costs & Affordability Premium Tax Credits

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