{"slug":"us-raise-benefits-cliff","name":"Is This Raise Actually a Raise? (2026 benefits cliff)","category":"earn","tags":["income","employment","planning"],"region":"US","tagline":"What a raise really adds after EITC, CTC, SNAP, Medicaid, and ACA subsidies move against it — the effective marginal rate no single program shows.","endpoint":"https://xearno.tools/api/v1/tools/us-raise-benefits-cliff","page":"https://xearno.tools/t/us-raise-benefits-cliff","description":"For working households on any support program, a raise triggers five simultaneous countercurrents: federal tax and FICA go up, EITC phases out (up to 21¢ per dollar), SNAP tapers (30¢ per net dollar), Medicaid ends abruptly at 138% of the poverty line, and — new for 2026 — the ACA subsidy cliff at 400% FPL is back after the enhanced credits expired 31 Dec 2025. Stacked, effective marginal rates in the $25k–$45k band routinely exceed 60–80%. This tool computes your household’s net resources before and after a raise using the verified 2026 parameter tables, and names each cliff the raise crosses. The decisive inputs are ones most people don’t know matter: whether your state expanded Medicaid, and whether it raised the SNAP gross-income limit.","inputSchema":{"type":"object","properties":{"expansion":{"description":"Did your state expand Medicaid? The decisive input. In expansion states adults keep Medicaid up to 138% of the poverty line — and lose it in one step above. In the 10 non-expansion states, adults below 100% FPL may get no help at all (the coverage gap). *WI covers adults to 100% FPL by waiver.","type":"string","enum":["yes","no"],"default":"yes"},"bbce":{"description":"SNAP gross-income limit in your state Most states raised the SNAP entry limit to 200% FPL via Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility — whether yours did decides where the SNAP door slams. Check your state SNAP page if unsure.","type":"string","enum":["bbce200","std130"],"default":"bbce200"},"filing":{"description":"Filing status Married filing jointly assumes a 2-adult household; single and head-of-household assume 1 adult.","type":"string","enum":["single","hoh","mfj"],"default":"hoh"},"kids":{"description":"Qualifying children (under 17) Sets CTC ($2,200 each), the EITC schedule, and household size for SNAP/Medicaid.","type":"number","minimum":0,"maximum":8,"default":2},"income":{"description":"Current annual earned income (household) Gross W-2 wages for the household before tax. This model treats all income as earned.","type":"number","minimum":0,"maximum":500000,"default":32000},"raise":{"description":"The raise (annual amount) Annual value of the raise, extra hours, or second job you are weighing.","type":"number","minimum":1,"maximum":100000,"default":5000},"rent":{"description":"Monthly rent / shelter cost Rent plus basic utilities — drives SNAP’s excess-shelter deduction, which changes the benefit materially.","type":"number","minimum":0,"maximum":10000,"default":1200},"premium":{"description":"Marketplace benchmark premium (monthly, optional) The second-lowest-cost Silver plan for your household on healthcare.gov. Enter it to model ACA subsidies and the restored 400% FPL cliff; leave 0 to skip health-coverage math.","type":"number","minimum":0,"maximum":5000,"default":0}},"required":[],"additionalProperties":false},"methodology":["Net resources = earned income − employee FICA (7.65%) − federal income tax after the nonrefundable CTC + EITC + refundable CTC (ACTC) + annualized SNAP − net marketplace premium (when a benchmark premium is entered and adults are not on Medicaid). The tool computes this at your current income and at income + raise; the effective marginal rate is 1 − (change in net resources ÷ raise).","Federal tax, tax year 2026 (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32): standard deduction $16,100 single / $24,150 HoH / $32,200 MFJ; seven brackets from 10% to 37%. All income is treated as W-2 earnings; no state income tax is modeled.","EITC 2026: credit rate 7.65/34/40/45% for 0/1/2/3+ children to maximums of $664/$4,427/$7,316/$8,231, phasing out at 7.65/15.98/21.06/21.06% from $10,860/$23,890 (single & HoH) or $18,140/$31,160 (MFJ). CTC 2026: $2,200 per child, refundable to $1,700 each, phased in at 15% of earnings over $2,500, phased out $50 per $1,000 of income over $200k/$400k.","SNAP FY2026 (Oct 2025–Sep 2026, 48 states + DC, USDA FNS COLA memo): gross-income test at 130% FPL, or ~200% in the 26 states + DC using Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility; net test at 100% FPL; deductions modeled: 20% of earned income, the standard deduction ($209–$299 by household size), and the excess-shelter deduction (shelter above half of remaining income, capped at $744). Benefit = maximum allotment − 30% of net income; $24 minimum for 1–2-person households. Dependent-care, medical, and child-support deductions are not modeled — actual benefits can be higher.","Medicaid: adults covered up to 138% of the 2026 poverty guideline in expansion states; the 10 non-expansion states are AL, FL, GA, KS, MS, SC, TN, TX, WI, WY (WI covers adults to 100% FPL by waiver; GA runs a partial work-requirement program). Medicaid’s value is not added to net resources; losing it appears as the net premium cost of replacement coverage when a benchmark premium is entered.","ACA plan year 2026: the enhanced (ARPA/IRA) premium tax credits expired 31 Dec 2025, restoring the pre-2021 rules per IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-25 — a contribution curve from 2.1% of income (at 100% FPL) to 9.96% (at 300–400%), a hard $0 cliff above 400% FPL, and no subsidy below 100% FPL (the non-expansion coverage gap). PTC = benchmark premium − applicable % × income.","Three FPL vintages apply at once, and the tool uses each program’s own: SNAP FY2026 dollar limits (derived from the 2025 guidelines) are used as published; ACA plan-year 2026 uses the 2025 guidelines ($15,650 + $5,500/person); Medicaid determinations during 2026 use the 2026 guidelines ($15,960 + $5,680/person).","Not modeled: state income taxes, TANF, WIC, housing assistance, child-care subsidies (CCDF), and utility programs — several have their own cliffs, so real effective rates can be higher. This is a planning model, not advice or a benefits determination."],"usage":"POST https://xearno.tools/api/v1/tools/us-raise-benefits-cliff with a JSON body matching inputSchema."}