What Is the SLCSP (Second-Lowest-Cost Silver Plan), and How Do You Find Yours?
The SLCSP — the second-lowest-cost Silver plan — is one of the most important numbers in the Affordable Care Act, and one of the most confusing. It's the plan the government uses to size your subsidy, and it's the figure you'll need at tax time. Here's exactly what it is, why it matters, and how to find yours.
- The SLCSP is the second-cheapest Silver plan offered to your household on the Marketplace.
- The government uses its premium — not the plan you buy — to calculate your premium tax credit.
- You need it for Form 8962: find it in Column B of your 1095-A, or in the HealthCare.gov tax tool if that's blank.
- It's the only plan that has to be Silver — you can spend your credit on any metal level.
What the SLCSP is
Marketplace plans come in metal tiers — Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum. List every Silver plan available to your household in your area, sort them by premium, and the second one from the bottom is your SLCSP. That's it: not the cheapest Silver, but the next one up.
It's defined per household, because premiums depend on each person's age and your family size — so your SLCSP is a specific dollar figure for your situation, in your county.
Why it's the benchmark
The ACA had to pick some plan to anchor subsidies to. It chose the second-lowest Silver as a deliberately middle-of-the-road reference — cheap enough to keep subsidies modest, but not the rock-bottom plan. Your premium tax credit is:
benchmark (SLCSP) premium − your expected contribution
The key consequence: because the credit is pegged to the SLCSP, you don't have to buy the SLCSP to benefit. Take that same credit to a cheaper Bronze plan and your out-of-pocket premium drops further; take it to Gold and you pay the difference. The benchmark just sets the size of the credit — where you spend it is up to you.
See your benchmark and credit
Our ACA Subsidy Calculator finds the second-lowest-cost Silver plan for your county and age, then shows the credit it produces — with every step visible.
Estimate my 2026 subsidy →Where to find your SLCSP
Which source you use depends on why you need it:
- For your taxes (a year that already happened): look at Column B of Form 1095-A, the statement the Marketplace mails (and posts to your account) early in the year. That column is the monthly SLCSP premium you'll carry to Form 8962.
- If Column B is blank or shows $0.00: use the HealthCare.gov tax tool (or your state Marketplace's equivalent) — see below.
- To estimate a future year: use a calculator like ours, or "window-shop" plans on the Marketplace for your area before enrolling.
When Column B is blank or $0
This trips up a lot of people. If you enrolled but didn't take an advance premium tax credit during the year, your 1095-A often shows $0.00 (or nothing) in Column B — the Marketplace didn't need to compute your benchmark because you weren't getting advance payments. But if you want to claim the credit on your return, you still need that number.
The fix: go to the HealthCare.gov "tax tool" (Marketplace customers in state-run exchanges use their state's tool), enter your ZIP code, the months you were enrolled, and everyone in your tax household, and it returns the correct monthly SLCSP. Put those figures into Form 8962 to calculate your credit.
Why your SLCSP changes
The benchmark isn't a fixed national number — it moves with:
- Where you live. Different counties have different insurers and prices, so the second-lowest Silver can vary widely county to county.
- Age. Premiums rise with age on the federal age curve, so an older household has a higher SLCSP (community-rated states like New York and Vermont are the exception — they don't vary premiums by age).
- Household size. The benchmark is summed across covered family members (counting at most the three oldest children under 21).
- The plan year. Insurers re-price every year, and which plan is "second-lowest" can change — so last year's SLCSP isn't this year's.
SLCSP and cost-sharing reductions
Silver matters for a second reason. If your income is at or below 250% of the Federal Poverty Level, you also qualify for cost-sharing reductions — lower deductibles and copays — but only on a Silver plan. So for many lower-income households, a Silver plan is the smart buy even though the credit can be spent anywhere. The SLCSP sizes the credit; an actual Silver plan unlocks the extra cost-sharing help.
Put it together
Enter your income, household, and ZIP code, and the calculator shows your benchmark SLCSP, your estimated credit, and whether you qualify for cost-sharing reductions.
Open the ACA Subsidy Calculator →Frequently asked questions
Is the SLCSP the price before or after the subsidy?
Before. The SLCSP is the plan's full monthly premium. Your credit is then subtracted from whatever plan you choose — so what you pay is the chosen plan's premium minus your credit.
What if Column B on my 1095-A is zero?
That usually means you didn't take advance payments. Look up the correct figure with the HealthCare.gov (or your state's) tax tool and use it on Form 8962.
Do I have to enroll in the SLCSP?
No — it only sizes your credit. You can apply the credit to any metal-level plan.
Is the SLCSP the same as the "benchmark plan"?
Yes. "Benchmark plan" and "second-lowest-cost Silver plan (SLCSP)" mean the same thing.
Sources
- HealthCare.gov — SLCSP glossary and the health-coverage tax tool
- IRS — About Form 8962 and About Form 1095-A
- IRS — Publication 974, Premium Tax Credit
How we compute the benchmark (the federal age curve, the family-premium rule, and our county-level data) is on our methodology page. Educational only — confirm your figures on the Marketplace.