Lost Your ACA Subsidy as a Freelancer? Health Insurance Options for 2027

At FreelanceAtlas, we help freelancers handle the money side of working for themselves, including the cost of health cover. The rules, income lines and dates below come from HealthCare.gov, CMS, the IRS, the Department of Labor and state exchange pages, checked in November 2026. For the basics of choosing a plan, read Health Insurance for Freelancers: How to Choose a Plan in 2026, and for the tax side, Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction in 2026: Form 7206 and HSAs.

This guide is general information, not tax, legal or insurance advice. Credits, deductions and eligibility depend on your income, household and state, so confirm your numbers on HealthCare.gov or your state exchange, and with a tax professional, before you enroll.

Lost ACA Subsidy: Your 2027 Options at a Glance

The table compares the routes self-employed people use once the credit shrinks or disappears. The income test in the second column is the 2027 premium tax credit rule from the IRS. Catastrophic plans are open to people under 30 and people with a hardship or affordability exemption, per HealthCare.gov.

What Changed in January 2026 and What Holds for 2027

The IRS questions and answers page on the premium tax credit, last updated September 21, 2026, says that for tax years 2021 through 2025, Congress temporarily expanded eligibility for the credit by removing the 400 percent upper income limit. The same page now gives the general rule as household income of at least 100 percent but no more than 400 percent of the federal poverty line. The IRS has also posted draft 2026 instructions for Form 8962, dated October 20, 2026, which say the same for tax years beginning after 2025. That document is a draft marked not for filing, and it can change before the final version is released. Covered California’s October 30, 2026 open enrollment release says Congress let “enhanced premium tax credits expire last year.”

For 2027, IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-26 sets the share of income you are expected to pay toward the benchmark silver plan. It runs from 2.15 percent of income below 133 percent of the poverty line to a flat 10.22 percent from 300 to 400 percent, and the table stops at 400 percent. As of November 2026, neither the IRS pages nor the CMS fact sheet for 2027 plans describe any extension for 2027.

The 400 Percent Line in Dollars

The HealthCare.gov poverty level page says the previous year’s figures are used to calculate Marketplace savings for the next year, so 2026 coverage uses the 2025 figures and 2027 coverage uses the 2026 figures:

• 2026 coverage: $15,650 for one person, so the 400 percent line is $62,600. For a family of four, $32,150 and $128,600.
• 2027 coverage: $15,960 for one person, so the line is $63,840. For two people, $21,640 and $86,560. For a family of four, $33,000 and $132,000.
• Alaska and Hawaii: both have higher poverty figures, so their lines are higher too.

Under the line, the expected share for 2026 runs from 2.10 percent to 9.96 percent of income, per IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-25. One dollar over the line removes the whole credit, not a slice of it.

Excess Credits Are Now Repaid in Full

The IRS says there is no repayment cap for tax years after 2025. If the Marketplace paid advance credits based on an income estimate that turns out too low, you pay back the full excess when you file. This matters most to freelancers, because a good fourth quarter can push you over the line after you have received 11 months of advance credits. HealthCare.gov’s self-employment page says your savings are based on estimated net income for the coverage year, not last year, and asks you to update your application as soon as it looks like your net income will be higher or lower. Our income goal planner gives you a monthly figure to compare against as the year goes on.

2027 Open Enrollment Dates

HealthCare.gov’s dates page and the CMS fact sheet of October 30, 2026 give these dates for 2027 coverage:

• November 1, 2026: open enrollment starts.
• December 15, 2026: last day to enroll or change plans for coverage that starts January 1.
• January 15, 2027: open enrollment ends. Plans chosen from December 16 to January 15 start February 1 once you pay the first premium.

States that run their own exchange set their own dates. Covered California’s open enrollment runs from November 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027, and you must pick a plan by December 31 to be covered for all of 2027. Outside open enrollment, you can still enroll within 60 days of losing job-based coverage.

Other Routes Self-Employed People Use

When the Marketplace price is too high, these are the other routes, with what the official pages say about each:

• A spouse’s job plan. Job coverage counts as affordable for 2027 if the employee’s share costs no more than 10.22 percent of household income, per Rev. Proc. 2026-26. For spouses and children, the test uses the cost of family coverage, not self-only coverage, a rule in place since 2023 according to the IRS Form 8962 instructions. If the family cost fails that test, family members may still qualify for the Marketplace credit.
• COBRA. The Department of Labor’s COBRA FAQ gives an 18-month maximum after a job ends and 60 days to enroll. You pay the full premium plus 2 percent, so the cost is up to 102 percent of what the plan costs.
• Medicaid and CHIP. HealthCare.gov says that in states that expanded Medicaid you can qualify on income alone, with the adult income line set at 133 percent, effectively 138 percent, of the poverty line. CHIP covers children and pregnant women in families that earn too much for Medicaid, and you can apply at any time of year.
• Short-term plans. A Department of Labor, HHS and Treasury statement of August 7, 2025 says short-term, limited-duration insurance is generally exempt from the individual market requirements of the ACA, and that the agencies will not prioritize enforcing the 2024 definition until new rules apply. A CMS fact sheet on what counts as health insurance describes these plans as designed to fill temporary gaps, such as between jobs. Only plans bought through a Marketplace qualify for the credit.
• Health care sharing ministries. The same CMS fact sheet says members share medical expenses according to a common set of ethical or religious beliefs, and that health care sharing ministries “generally are not health insurance plans or coverage.” They get no premium tax credit.
• Freelancers Union. Membership is free. Its health page says Freelancers Union itself is not a licensed insurance agent, lists partner plans, and says its agency subsidiary is licensed in 10 states: New York, California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Texas, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Colorado. It earns a commission when you buy through it.

Deducting Marketplace Premiums When Your Employer Offered Coverage

The short answer is no, not for the months you could have joined a subsidized plan at your job, even if you turned it down. The IRS instructions for Form 7206 say you cannot take the self-employed health insurance deduction for any month you were eligible to participate in a subsidized health plan run by your employer or your spouse’s employer. The same rule covers plans offered by a dependent’s employer or the employer of a child under 27.

The Form 7206 rule turns on whether you were eligible for a subsidized employer plan, and it does not mention state coverage standards. Two other paths remain:

• Itemized medical expenses. IRS Topic 502 lets you deduct medical costs, including insurance premiums, only to the extent they exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income, and only if you itemize.
• The premium tax credit. An employer offer that is affordable (9.96 percent of household income for 2026, 10.22 percent for 2027) and gives minimum value usually blocks the credit for that employee.

Each month is tested on its own. For months after the W-2 job ends, if no employer plan from you or your spouse is open to you, the deduction can apply, capped by the net earnings of the business on Form 7206. Our 2026 freelance tax deductions checklist covers the other write-offs.

What Freelance Creatives Should Compare When Buying a Plan

Compare the full yearly cost, not the monthly premium alone: 12 months of premium after any credit, plus the most you could pay in a bad year. Then check that your doctors and prescriptions are covered. A practical order:

1. Premium after the credit. Enter a careful 2027 income estimate on HealthCare.gov or your state site. A low estimate looks cheaper now and costs more at tax time.
2. Deductible and out-of-pocket maximum. Add the out-of-pocket maximum to the yearly premium to see your worst case.
3. Network. Search for your own doctors, therapist and nearest hospital in each plan’s directory.
4. Drug list. Look up each prescription and the tier it falls in.
5. HSA fit. Since January 1, 2026, bronze and catastrophic plans count as HSA-compatible, according to the IRS. For 2027 the HSA limit is $4,500 for self-only coverage and $9,000 for family coverage, per Rev. Proc. 2026-24. CMS says HealthCare.gov enrollees will have 35 HSA-eligible plans to pick from on average in 2027.
6. Direct primary care. From 2026, a qualifying direct primary care membership no longer blocks HSA deposits. For 2027 the IRS caps those fees at $150 a month for one person, or $300 when the membership covers more than one person.

A Self-Employed Family of Four Paying $2,600 a Month

Start with your 2027 household income: under $132,000, the credit can cover a large part of that premium, and above it, the cheaper routes are a spouse’s job plan, CHIP for the children if your state’s limits allow, or a bronze plan with an HSA.

At $2,600 a month, the family pays $31,200 a year. For example, say the family expects $125,000 of modified AGI in 2027. That is about 379 percent of the $33,000 poverty figure for four, so the expected share is 10.22 percent, or $12,775 a year, which is $1,064.58 a month. If the benchmark silver plan for that family costs $2,400 a month, the credit is $1,335.42 a month. At $140,000 of income, the family is at 424 percent of the poverty line and gets nothing.

Two rules shape the family math. Children who qualify for CHIP are not eligible for Marketplace savings, though the parents may still be, and CHIP costs cannot exceed 5 percent of family income for the year. And a family HSA can take up to $9,000 in 2027. IRS Publication 969 says HSA contributions are deductible even if you do not itemize, so they also lower the income figure the credit uses. Our guide to setting aside tax on 1099 income shows how to plan around deposits like these.

A Single-Member LLC After a Layoff, With a Pregnant Spouse

Apply on the Marketplace within 60 days of losing the job plan, or keep it through COBRA, and check Medicaid or CHIP for the pregnancy, because pregnancy alone does not open a special enrollment period but a birth does.

• The business counts as self-employment. HealthCare.gov says a business with no employees other than the owner and family uses the individual Marketplace, not the small business one.
• Leaving a job for any reason opens enrollment. HealthCare.gov says that if you leave your job for any reason and lose job-based coverage, you can enroll within 60 days, and coverage can start the first day of the next month.
• The income estimate covers the whole year. HealthCare.gov counts income for everyone in the tax household for the full calendar year, including pay earned before the layoff.
• Pregnancy cannot raise the price. A Marketplace plan cannot reject you or charge more because you are pregnant, and pregnancy and childbirth are covered from the day the plan starts.
• Medicaid and CHIP. Both cover some pregnant women, with rules set by each state. Postpartum coverage lasts at least 60 days after birth, and some states offer 12 months.
• The birth. Having a baby opens a special enrollment period. Apply within 60 days of the birth to add the baby or change plans.

Which One Fits Your Situation

• If your 2027 income will land under the 400 percent line, then buy a Marketplace plan and report income changes during the year.
• If you expect to land just over the line, then price a bronze plan with an HSA and plan deposits or retirement contributions that bring your income back under it.
• If you will be well over the line, then compare an unsubsidized Marketplace plan with a spouse’s job plan, since neither gets a credit.
• If your spouse is offered family coverage at work, then check whether the family cost is above 10.22 percent of household income before you assume the Marketplace credit applies.
• If you left a job in the last 60 days, then compare COBRA’s price with a Marketplace plan before the window closes.
• If income has fallen below 138 percent of the poverty line or a pregnancy is involved, then apply for Medicaid or CHIP, which take applications all year.
• If you are considering a short-term plan or sharing ministry, then treat it as a stopgap outside ACA rules, not as a replacement for an ACA plan.

Worked Example: Getting Back Under the Line With an HSA

For example, Dana is single, lives in a HealthCare.gov state and expects $70,000 of Schedule C profit in 2027, with no other income. Her numbers:

1. Self-employment tax. $70,000 times 92.35 percent is $64,645, and 15.3 percent of that is $9,890.69. Half of it, $4,945.35, is deductible. Our self-employment tax calculator runs this step for any profit figure.
2. Income for the credit. $70,000 minus $4,945.35 leaves $65,054.65. That is $1,214.65 over the $63,840 line, so Dana gets no credit.
3. The HSA move. Dana picks a bronze plan and deposits the 2027 self-only maximum of $4,500 in an HSA. Her income for the credit drops to $60,554.65, which is about 379 percent of $15,960.
4. Her share. At 10.22 percent, she is expected to pay $6,188.69 a year, or $515.72 a month, toward the benchmark silver plan.
5. The credit. If the benchmark silver plan for her age and ZIP code costs $750 a month, her credit is $234.28 a month, or $2,811.36 for the year. On a $480 bronze plan, she pays $245.72 a month.

Being $1,214.65 over the line would have cost Dana $2,811.36 of credit. A deductible SEP IRA or solo 401(k) contribution lowers adjusted gross income the same way, since the IRS has self-employed people deduct those contributions on Schedule 1. The example leaves out the self-employed health insurance deduction, which also lowers income, and the Form 7206 instructions send Marketplace buyers who take the credit to IRS Publication 974 for that calculation.

Traps Self-Employed Buyers Hit in 2027

• Guessing low on income. With no repayment cap after 2025, a low estimate can mean paying back every dollar of advance credit at tax time.
• Using last year’s income. HealthCare.gov bases savings on your estimate for the coverage year, not on last year’s return.
• Missing December 15. On HealthCare.gov, a plan picked on December 16 starts February 1, which leaves January uncovered.
• Expecting a credit on the wrong plan. The IRS Form 8962 instructions say catastrophic plans do not qualify, and the IRS premium tax credit page requires a plan bought through a Marketplace.
• Relying on the low-income special enrollment period. The draft 2026 Form 8962 instructions, which are not final, say that for tax years after 2025, coverage picked through a special enrollment period based only on expected income does not get the credit unless it ties to a qualifying life event.
• Deducting premiums while a job plan was open to you. The Form 7206 rule blocks those months.
• Waiting for a pregnancy to open enrollment. Only the birth does, so a pregnancy found in February leaves you on your current plan until the baby arrives.
• Treating a sharing ministry like insurance. CMS says health care sharing ministries generally are not health insurance, and they get no premium tax credit.

Conclusion

The larger credits ended after 2025, and as of November 2026 the IRS’s 2027 tables keep the 400 percent cutoff: $63,840 for one person and $132,000 for a family of four. Under that line, the credit still caps what you pay for the benchmark silver plan at 10.22 percent of income or less. Over it, you pay full price, and any excess advance credit is repaid in full.

So the first job is an honest 2027 income estimate. If it lands near the line, a bronze plan with an HSA, plus deductible retirement contributions, can bring the credit back. If it lands far above, compare full-price Marketplace plans with a spouse’s job plan, and enroll on HealthCare.gov by December 15, 2026 for a January 1 start.

Key Takeaways

• For tax years after 2025, households above 400 percent of the federal poverty line get no premium tax credit, per the IRS premium tax credit questions and answers page.
• For 2027 coverage, the line is $63,840 for one person and $132,000 for a family of four, using HealthCare.gov’s 2026 poverty figures.
• The IRS 2027 table asks households from 300 to 400 percent of the poverty line to pay 10.22 percent of income toward the benchmark silver plan.
• There is no repayment cap after 2025, so a low income estimate can mean repaying all advance credits.
• Bronze and catastrophic plans count as HSA-compatible from 2026, and the 2027 HSA limit is $4,500 self-only or $9,000 family.
• HealthCare.gov open enrollment for 2027 runs from November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027, with December 15 the deadline for a January 1 start.

Frequently Asked Questions

I am self-employed and lost my ACA subsidies this January. What do self-employed people do for health insurance now?

If your income is near the line, keep a Marketplace plan and lower your income with HSA deposits or retirement contributions to get back under 400 percent of the poverty line, which is $63,840 for one person in 2027. Others join a spouse’s job plan, use COBRA after leaving a job, or qualify for Medicaid or CHIP. Short-term plans are generally exempt from ACA rules, and CMS says sharing ministries generally are not health insurance.

Can I deduct my Marketplace premiums against my 1099 income if my employer offered coverage?

Not for the months you were eligible for a subsidized plan at your job or your spouse’s job, even if you declined it, according to the IRS Form 7206 instructions. You may still count the premiums as itemized medical expenses above 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income. For months with no employer plan open to you, the self-employed deduction can apply.

We are a self-employed family of 4 paying $2,600 a month for health insurance. What cheaper options do people use?

Check first whether your 2027 household income is under $132,000, because below that the Marketplace credit can cover a large share of the premium. Above it, families compare a spouse’s job plan, CHIP for the children where state limits allow, and a bronze plan with a family HSA of up to $9,000 for 2027. CMS says health care sharing ministries generally are not health insurance, so they do not replace an ACA plan.

I run a single-member LLC after a layoff and my wife is pregnant. What health insurance can we get?

You can enroll in a Marketplace plan within 60 days of losing job-based coverage, or keep the old plan through COBRA for up to 18 months. Check Medicaid and CHIP for the pregnancy, since state rules cover some pregnant women. Pregnancy does not open a special enrollment period, but the birth does, and a Marketplace plan cannot charge you more because you are pregnant.

What is the deadline to sign up for 2027 health insurance as a freelancer?

On HealthCare.gov, enroll by December 15, 2026 for coverage that starts January 1, 2027, and open enrollment closes January 15, 2027, with later sign-ups starting February 1. State exchanges set their own dates: Covered California runs to January 31, 2027 and asks for a plan choice by December 31 for full-year coverage.