What is the Family Glitch?

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a new rule in early 2023, called “The Family Glitch”.

This new rule reversed the IRS’ most recent affordability standard, which was implemented in 2013. The affordability of a plan was based on the cost of the employee-only coverage. This prevented family members of an employee who had access to an affordable employer sponsored health plan from receiving premium subsidies for ACA health insurance coverage.

Now, the “Family glitch” bases affordability on the total cost for family coverage. If a family pays more than a certain percentage of household income (8.39% in 2024) for their employer-sponsored health plan, that family may be eligible for premium tax credits through the Marketplace.