SLCSP is the second lowest cost Silver plan in the household rating area. The IRS uses that premium as the benchmark when it computes the premium tax credit on Form 8962, whether the household enrolled in Silver, Bronze, or Gold.
This SLCSP calculator walks the lookup by ZIP and household composition for the coverage year you select. The benchmark is not national. It shifts when carriers enter or exit a rating area, when filed rates change, or when age and tobacco bands move the household premium. A cached number from Quotit or Connecture in August is rarely the figure on Form 1095-A line 11 the following spring. During AEP, brokers need a current SLCSP before projecting APTC. At tax time, line 11 is the number that matters.
Key Takeaways
- SLCSP is the second lowest cost Silver plan in the household rating area for the coverage year.
- The IRS uses SLCSP as the benchmark on Form 8962, no matter which metal tier the client picked.
- SLCSP can change year over year when carriers enter or exit, or when filed rates shift.
- Brokers need SLCSP during quoting to project APTC. Consumers need it at tax time to reconcile.
- Form 1095-A line 11 is the official source for SLCSP at tax filing.
What SLCSP actually is
Rating areas are how the Marketplace groups counties and ZIP codes into pricing zones. Inside a rating area, carriers file premiums for every plan they sell that year. The Marketplace ranks all Silver tier plans available to the household by the actual household premium. The cheapest is the lowest cost Silver. The next one is SLCSP. That is the entire definition.
The reason SLCSP exists is that Congress picked it as the benchmark when the ACA premium tax credit math was written. The credit equals the household's expected contribution to a benchmark Silver plan, subtracted from the benchmark Silver premium. SLCSP is that benchmark. If Congress had picked a different rank, the math would still work. The choice was second cheapest, which is what brokers have been wrestling with ever since.
SLCSP lookup, by household
Three real shape examples. Numbers are illustrative for 2026 coverage and reflect typical patterns seen in the live CMS data QuoteTurbo pulls during quoting.
| Household | Rating area | Silver plans | SLCSP / month | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single, age 35, $42,000 income | TX Rating Area 6 (Harris County) | 14 | $348 | Used as benchmark for APTC and Form 8962. |
| Family of 4, ages 39, 37, 8, 5, $86,000 income | FL Rating Area 22 (Broward County) | 22 | $1,287 | SLCSP rose 8% over 2025 after a carrier exit. |
| Couple, ages 58 and 61, $61,000 income | GA Rating Area 3 (Fulton County) | 11 | $1,124 | Pre Medicare household where SLCSP swings drive most of the APTC outcome. |
The live SLCSP lookup inside QuoteTurbo uses the same CMS Marketplace data and pulls plan information from CMS at quote time. The numbers above are illustrative for understanding the shape of the answer, not for quoting an actual household. For that, open the free plan finder.
How SLCSP is calculated, step by step
Identify the rating area
ZIP, county, and state determine the rating area. CMS publishes rating area boundaries by state.
Filter to Silver plans
Pull all Silver tier plans available to the household members in that rating area for the coverage year.
Rank by household premium
Rank Silver plans by the premium for the actual household ages, tobacco status, and family composition.
Pick the second cheapest
SLCSP is the second lowest household premium in the ranked list. That number becomes the IRS benchmark.
The mechanical part of the math is not complex. The hard part is keeping the underlying data fresh. Rating areas occasionally shift. Carriers file new rates. Plan IDs change. A cached SLCSP from August is rarely the SLCSP that appears on Form 1095-A line 11 the following spring. Source documents: the CMS rating area page and the IRS Form 8962 instructions.
Why SLCSP shifts year over year
Four things move SLCSP between coverage years. A carrier exits the rating area, removing several Silver plans from the ranked list. A carrier enters with a low filed rate that becomes the new second cheapest. The state regulator approves a base rate change that ripples across the whole tier. Or CMS reclassifies a plan from Standard Silver to Silver Expanded, changing what counts in the rank.
For brokers, the practical answer is to verify SLCSP on the actual quote date and to never paste last year's benchmark into a current year projection. For consumers at tax time, the answer is line 11 of Form 1095-A, full stop. If that line is blank, use the Healthcare.gov SLCSP lookup tool for the relevant coverage year.
SLCSP and Form 8962, briefly
Form 8962 reconciles the advance premium tax credit that was paid to the carrier each month with the final premium tax credit the household was entitled to. The benchmark for that calculation is SLCSP, sourced from line 11 of Form 1095-A. If income came in lower than projected, the household may be entitled to additional credit. If income came in higher, repayment can show up. The full APTC walkthrough lives on the APTC calculator pillar and the broader subsidy view on the ACA subsidy calculator pillar.
Common broker mistakes with SLCSP
Three patterns show up over and over. One:quoting with last year's SLCSP because the tool cached it. By December, the cached number is the wrong number for many rating areas. Two: assuming SLCSP equals the second cheapest Silver in the plan finder UI, regardless of household composition. SLCSP is household specific because the premium itself depends on ages and tobacco status. Three: confusing SLCSP with the plan the client actually buys. SLCSP is a benchmark for the credit math. The household can pick any metal tier and the credit math still references SLCSP.
FAQ
What does SLCSP mean?
SLCSP is the second lowest cost Silver plan in the household rating area. The IRS uses the SLCSP premium as the benchmark for computing the premium tax credit on Form 8962.
Why does the IRS care about the second cheapest plan?
Congress picked the second lowest Silver as the benchmark so the credit calculation is anchored to a defined market price, not to whichever plan the client actually picked. The client can buy any metal tier and the credit math still references SLCSP.
Does SLCSP change every year?
Yes. SLCSP can change when carriers enter or exit a rating area, when rates filed for the plan year shift, or when CMS reclassifies plans. A household that had SLCSP of $612 in 2024 may see a different number for 2025 and again for 2026.
Where do I find SLCSP for tax filing?
Line 11 of Form 1095-A. If the form is missing or shows zero, the IRS provides an SLCSP lookup tool on Healthcare.gov for the relevant coverage year. Confirm the rating area and the household members covered.
Does the broker version of SLCSP differ from the consumer one?
No. SLCSP is the same calculation for brokers and consumers. The difference is workflow. Brokers usually need it during quoting to project APTC. Consumers usually need it at tax time to reconcile what was paid.
If you need to quote the actual plan, use the free plan finder. If you need to project APTC for the household, use the APTC calculator. If you need the whole subsidy picture in one screen, use the ACA subsidy calculator. If you want a ranked recommendation against the household, use the plan ranker. For the longer definitional walkthrough of how SLCSP gets picked, read what is SLCSP and how is it calculated. For the full pipeline (data sources, refresh cadence, source citations), see the QuoteTurbo methodology. If you need SLCSP logic embedded into a private quoting and enrollment workflow, Devkrest can build it.
Figures shown are illustrative. Actual amounts depend on Healthcare.gov eligibility determination and current CMS plan filings. The IRS reconciliation on Form 8962 is the final number. Not insurance, tax, or financial advice.
