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What is the SLCSP? The second lowest cost Silver plan, explained

The SLCSP is the benchmark plan that sets your ACA premium tax credit — and the number the IRS wants in column B of your Form 1095-A. Here’s what it is, where to find yours, and how to fix the common “column B is zero” problem.

The benchmark behind every ACA subsidy

SLCSP stands for second lowest cost Silver plan: the Silver Marketplace plan with the second cheapest premium available to your household in your rating area. The ACA uses it as the yardstick for affordability. Your premium tax credit is simply:

Premium tax credit = SLCSP premium − your expected contribution (a percentage of income set by the federal poverty level)

Two things follow from that formula. First, you never have to buy the SLCSP — pick any metal tier and the same credit applies. Second, where you live matters enormously: premiums are set per rating area (groups of counties), so two households with identical incomes in different counties can get very different subsidies.

Where to find your SLCSP for Form 8962

At tax time you reconcile the subsidy you received against the one you were owed on IRS Form 8962, and that form needs your monthly SLCSP premium. Look in Part III, column B of your Form 1095-A — the Marketplace fills it in when you received advance credit. If it’s blank, zero, or your household changed mid-year, look it up with the official healthcare.gov Health Coverage Tax Tool (state-exchange states have their own tax tools).

“Monthly premium SLCSP has a zero entered” — what it means

A zero in column B is one of the most common 1095-A surprises, and tax software will often refuse to continue until it’s fixed. It does not mean your benchmark was $0 — it means the Marketplace didn’t compute one for those months, usually because you didn’t take advance credit that month or a life change wasn’t reported. The fix: look up the real monthly figure in the tax tool for your ZIP, county, and household, and enter that on Form 8962. Skipping it can cost you the entire credit for those months.

SLCSP vs. LCSP — and why “second” lowest

The LCSP (lowest cost Silver plan) is the cheapest Silver plan in your area; the SLCSP is the runner-up. Congress picked the second cheapest as the benchmark so a single bargain-priced outlier can’t drag down subsidies for an entire region. If only one Silver plan is offered where you live, that plan serves as the SLCSP.

Benchmarks are recalculated every year from the plans actually filed in your rating area. For 2026, benchmark premiums rose steeply in most states — see our state-by-state premium increase study for how much, and what it means for your subsidy.

SLCSP FAQ

What is the SLCSP?
The SLCSP is the second lowest cost Silver plan available through the ACA Marketplace in your area for your household. It is the benchmark the IRS uses to calculate your premium tax credit: your subsidy equals the SLCSP premium minus your expected contribution based on income. You do not have to buy the SLCSP — or any Silver plan — for it to set your subsidy.
How do I find my SLCSP premium for Form 8962?
If you got Marketplace coverage, your SLCSP premium is in Part III, column B of Form 1095-A. If column B is blank or wrong, use the official Health Coverage Tax Tool at healthcare.gov (or your state exchange’s tax tool) to look it up by ZIP code, county, and household member ages, then enter that figure on Form 8962.
Why does my 1095-A show zero in the monthly SLCSP column?
A zero or blank in column B usually means the Marketplace did not calculate a benchmark for those months — most often because you did not receive advance premium tax credit that month, or because household changes were not reported. It does not mean your SLCSP was $0. Look up the correct monthly amount with the healthcare.gov tax tool and use it on Form 8962; without it you could miss subsidy money you are owed.
Is the SLCSP the same as the cheapest Silver plan?
No. The lowest cost Silver plan (LCSP) is the cheapest; the SLCSP is the second cheapest. The ACA uses the second lowest on purpose, so one unusually cheap outlier plan cannot drag every household’s subsidy down with it.
Does my SLCSP change every year?
Yes — it is recalculated each plan year from the Silver plans actually offered where you live, so both the benchmark plan and its premium can change. For 2026, benchmark premiums jumped sharply in most states, which is one reason subsidies and net premiums moved so much this year.

See your subsidy with your real benchmark

PlanVoyager computes your premium tax credit from the actual benchmark for your county — enter your ZIP, household, and income to see your net premium on every plan.

Estimate my subsidy