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TOOLS · ICHRA AFFORDABILITY · 2026

ICHRA Affordability Calculator for 2026

The minimum ICHRA contribution that clears the 9.96% safe harbor.

Enter a single employee's annual wage, the monthly lowest-cost silver plan premium for their ZIP, and pick a safe harbor method. We compute the required employer contribution, with the math visible.

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$

W-2 Box 1 wages (or your estimate for rate-of-pay).

$ /mo

Lowest-cost silver plan for the employee's ZIP. Look it up on healthcare.gov or CMS LCSP table. Default is 2026 national average.

FPL safe harbor caps employee share at 9.96% of $15,650 (FPL for a single individual, used for 2026 plans) regardless of wage, the strictest test.

MINIMUM EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION
$284.40/MO

At $68,500/year W-2, the employee's max share is $568.40/mo (9.96%). With LCSP at $584/mo, you must contribute at least $15.60/mo to clear the safe harbor.

Basis (annual)$68,500
× 9.96% / 12$568.40
LCSP premium$584.00
Required ICHRA / mo$15.60
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How the 9.96% safe harbor works

For 2026, the ACA deems an ICHRA affordable if the employee's share of the lowest-cost silver plan (LCSP) premium, after the ICHRA contribution is applied, doesn't exceed 9.96% of household income. Since employers don't know household income, the IRS lets you use one of three safe harbors:

W-2 wages (Box 1)use actual W-2 Box 1 wages. Best for salaried employees with stable compensation.

Rate-of-paytake the employee's hourly rate × 130 hours × 12 months. Best for hourly workers.

Federal Poverty Line (FPL)cap the employee's share at 9.96% of the FPL for a single individual ($15,650 for 2026 plans), whatever the employee's household size. Simplest, but most expensive for the employer, safe harbor applies universally regardless of actual wage.

If the result is a negative number, you don't have to contribute anything, the employee's share is already below 9.96% of the basis. If the result is positive, that's your required minimum ICHRA contribution per employee per month.

WHEN THIS NUMBER CHANGES

The 9.96% moves every year. So do the silver plan premiums behind it.

One email when the IRS sets the next affordability percentage, when a state changes its rules, and when anything lands that would make you rerun this. No spam, no vendor pitches, unsubscribe in one click.

Not sure ICHRA is even the right structure for you? Run the two-minute fit check instead.

Questions about the ICHRA calculator

For 2026, an ICHRA is considered affordable under ACA rules if the employee's net cost for the lowest-cost silver plan (LCSP) in their ZIP code does not exceed 9.96% of household income. Because employers don't know actual household income, the IRS allows three safe harbor methods, W-2 wages, rate-of-pay, or FPL, to test affordability with known data.
Three steps: (1) pick a safe harbor basis (W-2 wage, rate-of-pay, or FPL amount); (2) multiply that basis by 9.96% ÷ 12 to get the employee's maximum monthly share; (3) subtract that share from the monthly LCSP premium for the employee's ZIP. If positive, that's your required minimum ICHRA contribution. If zero or negative, no employer contribution is required.
The rate-of-pay method is generally best for hourly workers. It uses hourly rate × 130 hours × 12 months as the basis, so affordability doesn't fluctuate with actual hours worked. The FPL method is even simpler, one fixed basis ($15,650 for 2026 plans) for everyone, but typically requires higher employer contributions for all but the lowest-paid employees.
If an ICHRA fails the affordability test, employees can opt out and claim premium tax credits on the Marketplace. If any full-time employee does that, the employer may face ACA employer shared responsibility payments (currently $4,460/year per employee who gets a subsidy). Run this calculator before your plan year begins, not after the fact.
Yes. The FPL safe harbor applies universally regardless of wage, ZIP, or hours. For a single employee in 2026: 9.96% × $15,650 ÷ 12 = $129.90/month maximum employee share. If the LCSP in their ZIP exceeds $129.90, you must contribute the difference. For high-earning staff this usually costs more than the W-2 method, but for mixed workforces it simplifies compliance to one number.

Related guides

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ICHRA affordability is a test, not a price. An offer is affordable when what the employee still has to pay for the lowest-cost silver plan in their ZIP code, after your allowance, stays at or under 9.96% of their household income in 2026. Clear the test and the offer counts as affordable, which means the employee cannot claim a premium tax credit on the marketplace. Miss it and they can, and your offer may expose you to a penalty if you are an applicable large employer.
It uses the same ACA percentage and the same three safe harbors, but it answers the employer's question in reverse. A general ACA affordability calculator checks whether a group premium you already set is affordable. This one starts from the employee's wage and their ZIP's lowest-cost silver premium and tells you the allowance you need to set so the offer clears the test.

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Bring your numbers from this page. The call is to work out whether an ICHRA fits your headcount, not to put you on a plan.

InsureICHRA designs and runs the arrangement. Enrolling an employee in an individual health plan is handled by licensed agents, and InsureICHRA is not an insurance agency, an insurance carrier or a licensed producer. Calls to this number reach a licensed agent. Nothing on this page is an offer of coverage or a recommendation of any plan or carrier. Plan availability, benefits and premiums vary by state, by carrier and by the employee's rating area. We are paid when an employer we advise puts an ICHRA in place and their people enroll through our licensed agent partners.

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