What are the 2026 federal poverty guidelines by household size?
Executive summary
The official HHS poverty guidelines that most federal programs reference for coverage year 2026 are the 2025 HHS guidelines (often used to determine 2026 eligibility), which set the contiguous‑U.S. single‑person poverty level at $15,650 and increase by $5,500 for each additional household member through eight people (with the same per‑person increment applied for any additional members) [1] [2] [3]. States and programs sometimes apply different multipliers or use marginally different add‑on amounts for households larger than eight, so program administrators should be consulted for precise thresholds [4] [5].
1. What “2026” means in practice for poverty guidelines
Many federal programs determining eligibility for benefits in calendar year 2026 use the preceding year’s HHS poverty guidelines—so “2026” eligibility commonly references the 2025 guidelines published by HHS and distributed via ASPE and the Federal Register [1] [3]. This timing rule explains why documents describing coverage‑year 2026 eligibility repeatedly point to the 2025 poverty levels as the operative figures for subsidies and many benefit rules [1] [2].
2. The baseline numbers most programs use for coverage year 2026
The widely cited baseline for the contiguous United States is $15,650 for a household of one under the 2025 HHS poverty guidelines, with an increment of $5,500 for each additional household member up to and beyond eight people—yielding these commonly used figures: 1 person $15,650; 2 $21,150; 3 $26,650; 4 $32,150; 5 $37,650; 6 $43,150; 7 $48,650; 8 $54,150; and add $5,500 for each extra person beyond eight [1] [2] [3]. Several public guidance and summary tables produced by state marketplaces and insurer resources reproduce and rely on these per‑person increments for eligibility and subsidy calculations [6] [7].
3. Important geographic and program exceptions
Hawaii and Alaska have higher poverty guideline dollar amounts set separately by HHS, so the contiguous‑U.S. figures do not apply there; ASPE notes these regional differences and directs users to HHS tables for state‑specific figures [3]. In addition, some programs or funding formulas use percentage multipliers of the poverty level—such as 110% or 150% of FPL for eligibility thresholds—and those programs sometimes specify distinct add‑on amounts per extra household member for computations beyond eight people (for example, LIHEAP guidance lists add‑ons for FFY2026 of $4,994 at 110% FPL and $6,810 at 150% FPL for each member over eight) [4].
4. Why different documents show slightly different add‑ons
While many synthesis sources and health insurance guides standardize on a $5,500 per‑person increment, program‑specific tables and state forms occasionally show different add‑on values (examples in the record include $5,140 or other figures for over‑eight household members) because some charts round differently, apply program‑specific multipliers, or reference federal fiscal‑year variants rather than the HHS guidelines themselves [5] [2] [4]. The authoritative publication remains the HHS/ASPE poverty guidelines; alternative figures typically come from program administrators applying those guidelines to their own fiscal rules [3] [4].
5. Practical takeaway for eligibility and planning
For most purposes tied to coverage year 2026—especially ACA premium subsidy calculations and many federal program eligibilities—the practical working numbers are the 2025 HHS guidelines (single $15,650; add $5,500 per additional household member; higher values for Alaska/Hawaii), but confirming the exact table and whether a program uses an FPL multiplier (e.g., 138%, 150%, 200%) or a program‑specific add‑on for very large households is essential because those program rules change the effective income cutoff [1] [2] [7].