ACA MAGI & Roth Conversion Planner

Scott & Courtney — Retirement Nov 2027 — Colorado

ACA cliff (est.)
—
400% FPL
Base MAGI
—
before conversions
Max conversion room
—
to stay under cliff
Plan settings
Coverage year
ACA plan year you're optimizing for
Household size on tax return
HH4 (2028–2036): Scott + Courtney + Maeve + Aspen · HH3 (2037+): Aspen turns 18 July 2036
MAGI income sources (enter Dec actuals)
Dividends & interest counts
Taxable brokerage — VOO, SCHD, VXUS, SGOV distributions
$
Muni bond interest (BSMS/BSMR) counts
Tax-exempt BUT added back into ACA MAGI — track monthly distributions
$
Realized capital gains (Miller account) counts
Long-term gains from annual Bridge bucket refill harvest
$
Other taxable income counts
Part-time work, consulting, any W-2 / 1099 income
$
Roth withdrawals (contributions or seasoned) no MAGI
Contributions or 5yr+ conversions — zero ACA MAGI impact
$
December conversion planner
Planned Roth conversion amount
Courtney 401k → Roth. Adjust in Dec once actuals are in.
$
Base MAGI Roth conversion Buffer to cliff Over cliff!
Total MAGI w/ conversion
—
Remaining buffer
—
% of cliff used
—
Enter your planned conversion above
Base MAGI and max conversion room calculated above.

Tax bracket analysis — MFJ

Standard deduction (MFJ est.) —
12% bracket room remaining —
Binding constraint —
Effective bracket on conversion —
Recommended max conversion —

ACA MAGI rules — what counts

Dividends & taxable interestcounts
Realized capital gains (LT or ST)counts
Roth conversions (pre-tax → Roth)counts
Muni bond interest (BSMS/BSMR)counts — added back!
T-bill / SGOV / money market interestcounts
Roth withdrawals (contributions)does NOT count
Roth withdrawals (5yr+ conversions)does NOT count
Social Security (pre-claiming)does NOT count
HSA distributions (qualified medical)does NOT count
📋 Update cliff estimates annually: New FPL published each January. 2027 ACA coverage uses 2026 FPL ($33,000/4 for HH of 4 → confirmed 2027 cliff = $132,000). Future years estimated at +2.5%/yr. Update the hardcoded values in this file each January when HHS publishes.
Verified cliff estimates (400% FPL, continental US):
2026: $128,600 HH4 / $107,080 HH3 (confirmed — 2025 FPL)
2027: $132,000 HH4 / $110,480 HH3 (confirmed — 2026 FPL)
2028–2036: HH4 default (Scott, Courtney, Maeve, Aspen). Aspen b. July 2018, claimed as dependent.
2037+: HH3 default (Aspen turns 18 July 2036). Year selector auto-switches HH size.
Per-person adj: ±$21,520 base (2026), grows ~2.5%/yr with FPL.
Note: Aspen not on your ACA plan (covered by Kaitlyn) — she only affects cliff via tax return household size.

Colorado has expanded Medicaid — minimum MAGI to stay in ACA (not fall into Medicaid) is 138% FPL ≈ $45,700 for HH4 in 2026.

This tool is a planning aid. Verify actual FPL numbers at healthinsurance.org each year before executing conversions.