Second Lowest Cost Silver Plan (SLCSP) and Tax Tools

Second Lowest Cost Silver Plans and Lowest Cost Bronze Plans Explained

The Second Lowest Cost Silver Plan (SLCSP) is a key plan on each state’s Marketplace, used to calculate the cost assistance you may qualify for under ObamaCare. Similarly, the Lowest Cost Bronze Plan in each state’s Marketplace is used to determine affordability for certain exemptions and options.

This page explains everything you need to know about both the Second Lowest Cost Silver Plan and the Lowest Cost Bronze Plan, providing essential information for understanding how they impact your health insurance costs and affordability. Additionally, it includes links to tools that help you find and calculate these plans in your state.

Second Lowest Cost Tax Tools For Assistance and Affordability

To complete Form 8965 or Form 8962 when filing your federal tax return, you may need information about Marketplace health plans, particularly the Second Lowest Cost Silver Plan (SLCSP) or the Lowest Cost Bronze Plan available during the coverage year.

The premiums for these plans can be essential when determining cost assistance or calculating affordability exemptions. HealthCare.Gov provides two tax tools to help you find the necessary information. These tools allow you to look up the SLCSP and Lowest Cost Bronze Plan premiums.

Use the following links to access the Silver and Bronze tax tools:

Second Lowest Cost Silver Plan Tax Tool from HealthCare.Gov

and Lowest Cost Bronze Plan Tax Tool From HealthCare.Gov.

FACT: In most cases, you’ll find your SLCSP premium on Form 1095-A. However, if you don’t have access to your 1095-A or want to verify the SLCSP for other reasons, such as checking the average cost of a plan in your region, you can use the tax tool.

TIP: While specific figures may change each year, the tools and logic remain the same. Ensure you select the correct tax year when using these tools.

Second Lowest Cost Silver Plan and Lowest Cost Bronze Plan FAQ

Here’s some important information on how these plans are used to determine cost assistance and affordability:

• Second Lowest Cost Silver Plan (SLCSP) for Cost Assistance: The SLCSP in your state’s marketplace serves as the baseline plan for determining cost assistance. If you qualify for tax credits that cap your premiums at 9.5% of your household income, you’ll receive credits equal to the premium of the SLCSP. If you choose a higher-cost plan, you’ll get fewer credits, and for a lower-cost plan, you’ll get more credits.
• Tax Credits and SLCSP: When filing your tax credits on Form 8962 (Premium Tax Credit Form), you’ll need to reference the SLCSP. The 8962 instructions will guide you on how to use the SLCSP in calculating your credits.
• Affordability Exemption and Lowest Cost Bronze Plan: The affordability exemption uses the Lowest Cost Bronze Plan to determine whether the cheapest marketplace plan was affordable for you. To claim this exemption, use form 8965. (Health Coverage Exemptions). The instructions for this form will help guide your calculations.
• Bronze Plan and Penalty Calculation: The average cost of bronze plans is used to calculate the maximum penalty for not having coverage in years where the fee applies. You can find a worksheet in the Form 8965 instructions to help calculate this fee.

NOTE: If your Form 1095-A is incorrect or you didn’t receive it, you can use the SLCSP tax tool to calculate the necessary information for your 1095-A yourself.

Second Lowest Cost Silver Plan Tax Tool

To determine your final premium tax credit for the year, you need to know the premium for the second lowest cost Silver plan (SLCSP) available to you in that year. You’ll enter this information on Form 8962—Premium Tax Credit.

Most people will find this information on the Form 1095-A A provided by the Marketplace. If your Form 1095-A doesn’t include this information or it’s outdated, you may need to use the SLCSP Tax Tool.

SLCSP Tax Tool from HealthCare.Gov: FIND SILVER PLAN PREMIUM

When to Use the Tool: You need to use the tool if your Form 1095-A doesn’t include information about your SLCSP or the information is outdated. This could happen if:

• You had a change to your household during the year that you didn’t report to the Marketplace (such as having a baby, moving, or a family member getting job-based coverage).
• You didn’t apply for financial assistance when completing your Marketplace application, and now want to find out if you qualify.
• You didn’t take advance payments of the premium tax credit during the year and want to claim the credit when filing your taxes.

Lowest Cost Bronze Plan Tax Tool

To claim the exemption because Marketplace coverage was considered unaffordable for you in a given year, you’ll need to know the premium for the lowest cost Bronze plan available to you. To do this, you’ll use the lowest cost bronze plan tax tool below.

You’ll use this information to complete Form 8965—Health Coverage Exemptions.

• You don’t need to use the Lowest Cost Bronze Plan Tax Tool if you already have an Exemption Certificate Number (ECN) for this exemption. In that case, simply enter your ECN in Part 1 of Form 8965.
• To claim the affordability exemption, you’ll also need to know the amount of financial assistance you were eligible for. This can be determined by looking up the premium for the Second Lowest Cost Silver Plan (SLCSP) available to you for the year.

Second Lowest Cost Sliver Plan and 8962

To determine your final premium tax credit for the year in question, you need to know the premium for the second lowest cost Silver plan (SLCSP) that was available to you. You will use this information to complete Form 8962—Premium Tax Credit to finalize your tax credits for that year.

Second Lowest Cost Sliver Plan and 1095

You need to use this tool if the Form 1095-A you received from the Marketplace doesn’t include information about your second lowest cost Silver plan (SLCSP), or if the information is outdated. This could happen in the following scenarios:

• You had a change in your household that you didn’t report to the Marketplace, such as having a baby, moving to a new home, or a family member gaining job-based coverage.
• You didn’t apply for financial assistance when you initially filled out your Marketplace application and want to see if you qualify now.
• You didn’t take advance payments of the premium tax credit to lower the amount you paid for monthly premiums and now wish to claim them when you file your taxes.

Note: If your Form 1095-A doesn’t include information about the second lowest cost Silver plan (SLCSP) or if it is outdated, you may need to use the SLCSP tool to get the necessary information for your tax filing. Learn more about using the SLCSP tool.

Lowest Cost Bronze Plan and 8965

You may need to use both the second lowest cost silver plan (SLCSP) tool and the lowest cost bronze plan tool if you’re claiming a health coverage exemption because Marketplace coverage was considered unaffordable for you. This information will be required when filling out Form 8965 to claim the exemption, ensuring that the Marketplace plan options available to you were indeed unaffordable for the tax year in question.

NOTE: From 2019 forward the fee for not having coverage is reduced to $0 in most states.