One person’s year
For someone weighing a choice
Put in where you start, then try the levers: what an IRA or an HSA contribution does to your tax, your health insurance credit and the money you have left.
Scenarios, from Snow AI
Pull a lever. See what it changes.
A person’s income, expenses and filing, and beside them the levers that change the outcome: a traditional IRA, an HSA, a 401(k) deferral. Every figure is worked out by Snow AI Tax’s engine and laid side by side.
The worked example is invented, not anyone’s return. General information, not tax advice.
Scenario 3
Single · household of 1 · self-employed · 2026
Baseline
Household income418%
300%400%450%
Over the cliff
Premium tax credit$0
Federal tax$14,380
Net cost of cover$7,800
Cash left this year$48,220
Traditional IRA $0
Traditional IRA$0
Household income418%
300%400%450%
Over the cliff
Premium tax credit$0
Federal tax$14,380
Net cost of cover$7,800
Cash left this year$48,220
Premium tax credit, by IRA contributionWorked out by Tax’s engine
Back to 418%: credit $0
Get under the cliff
Household income is $2,854 above 400% of the poverty line ($62,600).
Traditional IRA $2,854 +HSA $2,854 +
Tax’s engine applies the limits, so the comparison shows what a contribution really does. General information, not tax advice.Built into the family
Snow AI Taxevery figureTax years2025 · 2026Marketplace coverForm 1095-AThe 2026 subsidy cliff400%Pitchtalking pointsMemosecure sendSealed scenariosown keyOne Snow AI sign-in
New in Model
Starting a business? Price it before you spend.
The Business estimator works out what it costs to start, what each job earns, and when you break even: start-up costs in segments, cost per job, busy and quiet months, and the levers side by side. Templates for landscaping, cleaning, a food truck and more; agencies build plans for their clients.
Figures in the templates are examples until you enter your own quotes. Not a quote, and not tax, lending or financial advice.
Who it’s for
For the question before the decision.
An agency
For an agency working with clients
Keep a client’s scenarios with the agency, where its owner and admins can open them. Export the comparison, masked or in full, or send it securely.
The family’s apps
For a Scenarios tab in another app
Model is also a capability. Another Snow AI app sends a scenario and gets the same comparison back, so a tab draws the same table without copying anything.
5alternatives at most, side by side with the baseline
4levers: IRA, HSA, 401(k) and self-employed health insurance
7rows in every comparison, from AGI to cash left
2tax years, 2025 and 2026, and every filing status
0lines of tax Model works out itself. Tax’s engine does them all
What Model does
Start where you are. Try the levers. Compare.
The baseline
Start from where the person stands.
The starting picture is one form: how they file, who is in the household, what comes in, what is already put away, and their marketplace cover.
- Tax year, filing status, household size, region and age
- Wages and a pre-tax 401(k) deferral, self-employment receipts and expenses, and interest
- A traditional IRA, an HSA, self-employed health insurance, and marketplace cover from Form 1095-A
Baseline
The example: a single 30-year-old, self-employed
Alternatives
Up to five alternatives, each named by its levers.
An alternative is the baseline with one or more levers pulled, and it carries their names: “Traditional IRA $2,854”. When the baseline is just over the 2026 cliff, one click adds the gap as an IRA or an HSA contribution.
- Four levers: a traditional IRA, an HSA, a 401(k) deferral and self-employed health insurance
- “Get under the cliff” shows how far above 400% of the poverty line the household is
- Tax’s engine applies the limits, so a contribution over the limit shows what is really deducted
Alternatives
2 of 5
Traditional IRA $2,854Remove
Traditional IRA
2,854
HSA
as the baseline
HSA $4,000Remove
Traditional IRA
as the baseline
HSA
4,000
Get under the cliff
Household income is $2,854 above 400% of the poverty line ($62,600).
Traditional IRA $2,854 +HSA $2,854 +
The comparison
Side by side, with the best case marked.
One column a case. Seven rows say what each choice does, and the lines under the table say why, in Tax’s own words.
- AGI, household income as a percent of the poverty line, federal tax, the premium tax credit, the net cost of cover, money put away and cash left
- Best is the case that keeps the most: cash left plus money put away, which is still the person’s
- Caveats under the table wherever the engine does not yet cover something
| 2026 | Baseline | Traditional IRA $2,854 | Best HSA $4,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted gross income | $65,454 | $62,600 | $61,454 |
| Household income, % of the poverty line | 418%over the cliff | 400% | 392% |
| Federal tax | $14,380 | $14,110 | $13,996 |
| Premium tax credit | $0 | $2,165 | $2,279 |
| Net cost of cover | $7,800 | $5,635 | $5,521 |
| Money put away (IRA, HSA, 401(k)) | $0 | $2,854 | $4,000 |
| Cash left this year | $48,220 | $47,801 | $46,883 |
- Net premium tax credit (refundable): $2,165. At 400% of the poverty line you are expected to pay 9.96% of $62,600 ($6,235); the benchmark plan costs $8,400.
- Tax’s engine takes an HSA contribution as given: it does not yet check the year’s limit, or that the plan is one an HSA may go with.
Tax’s engine
Every figure comes from Snow AI Tax.
Model sends every case to Tax’s engine in one call and reads back each return. It works out no line of tax of its own. It only adds up what a person has at the end of the year.
- The same engine, and the same rules, that Snow AI Tax prepares returns with
- When Tax cannot be reached, Model says so plainly. Nothing is worked out and nothing is guessed
- What the engine does not do yet (an HSA’s yearly limit, and self-employed health insurance worked out with the credit) shows as a note under the table
The scenarioBaseline and alternatives
→Tax’s engineEach return, line by line, and Form 8962’s household income
→The comparisonSide by side
What Model adds upand nothing else
federal tax = Tax’s total tax, less advance credit repaid
credit kept = net credit + advance payments − repaid
net cost of cover = premiums − credit kept
put away = IRA + HSA + 401(k) deferral
cash left = income − put away − federal tax − net cost of cover
Kept safe
Sealed, logged, and sent securely.
A scenario holds real income and health cover, so Model treats it as protected from the start. It is sealed whole under Model’s own key, and the list beside it shows only a neutral label.
- Opened only by whoever made it, an agency’s owner and admins, and the suite owner. Every open is logged first
- Export masked, or in full with a reason and a fresh sign-in
- Send it securely through Memo with an expiry and a limit on opens, and pass on the link and code separately
Your scenarioslabel, year, alternatives
Scenario 32026 · 2
Scenario 22025 · 1
Scenario 12026 · 0
Export
Cash left••••
Federal tax••••
Secure sendthrough Memo
Expires in
7 days
Opens
3
Reason
Client asked for a copy
Try it
Move a lever. Watch the outcome move.
The worked example from Model’s own front page: invented, a single 30-year-old, self-employed. Every figure below is worked out in this page by a copy of the rules Snow AI Tax’s engine uses for 2026.
The lever
Fixed for this example: single, a household of one in the 48 states, age 30, $12,000 of business expenses, $400 of interest, marketplace premiums of $7,800 and a $8,400 benchmark plan, no advance payments.
Baseline
Household income418%
300%400%450%
Over the cliff
Adjusted gross income$65,454
Premium tax credit$0
Federal tax$14,380
Net cost of cover$7,800
Money put away$0
Cash left this year$48,220
Traditional IRA $2,854Best
Household income400%
300%400%450%
At or under 400%
Adjusted gross income$62,600
Premium tax credit$2,165
Federal tax$14,110
Net cost of cover$5,635
Money put away$2,854
Cash left this year$47,801
Premium tax credit, by IRA contributionHover or tap the line
In Tax’s words: Traditional IRA $2,854
- Traditional IRA deduction: $2,854. Your contributions; no workplace plan on the return, so the whole amount is deductible up to the limit.
- Net premium tax credit (refundable): $2,165. At 400% of the poverty line you are expected to pay 9.96% of $62,600 ($6,235); the benchmark plan costs $8,400.
| 2026 | Baseline | Traditional IRA $2,854 | Best HSA $4,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted gross income | $65,454 | $62,600 | $61,454 |
| Household income, % of the poverty line | 418%over the cliff | 400% | 392% |
| Federal tax | $14,380 | $14,110 | $13,996 |
| Premium tax credit | $0 | $2,165 | $2,279 |
| Net cost of cover | $7,800 | $5,635 | $5,521 |
| Money put away (IRA, HSA, 401(k)) | $0 | $2,854 | $4,000 |
| Cash left this year | $48,220 | $47,801 | $46,883 |
Best: the case that keeps the most, counting money put away as still yours (cash left plus money put away). Net cost of cover is the premiums less the credit. Cash left is income less money put away, federal tax and the net cost of cover.
Baseline
- Net premium tax credit (refundable): $0. Household income is more than 400% of the poverty line: no credit for 2026.
Traditional IRA $2,854
- Traditional IRA deduction: $2,854. Your contributions; no workplace plan on the return, so the whole amount is deductible up to the limit.
- Net premium tax credit (refundable): $2,165. At 400% of the poverty line you are expected to pay 9.96% of $62,600 ($6,235); the benchmark plan costs $8,400.
HSA $4,000
- Health savings account deduction: $4,000. Your own HSA contributions, outside payroll.
- Net premium tax credit (refundable): $2,279. At 392% of the poverty line you are expected to pay 9.96% of $61,454 ($6,121); the benchmark plan costs $8,400.
- Tax’s engine takes an HSA contribution as given: it does not yet check the year’s limit, or that the plan is one an HSA may go with.
Household income is $2,854 above 400% of the poverty line ($62,600). One click adds that gap as a contribution; Tax’s engine applies the limits.
| 2026 | Best Baseline |
|---|---|
| Adjusted gross income | $65,454 |
| Household income, % of the poverty line | 418%over the cliff |
| Federal tax | $14,380 |
| Premium tax credit | $0 |
| Net cost of cover | $7,800 |
| Money put away (IRA, HSA, 401(k)) | $0 |
| Cash left this year | $48,220 |
Baseline
- Net premium tax credit (refundable): $0. Household income is more than 400% of the poverty line: no credit for 2026.
An example, invented, not anyone’s return. General information, not tax advice. In the studio, every case goes to Tax’s engine itself; this page carries a copy of its 2026 rules for this one kind of return, checked against the engine.
What’s included
Two ways to have Model. Everything in both.
On its own, or inside the Snow AI account you already have. Nothing in Model is held back for a higher tier.
Model on its own
For someone who wants to compare their choices. Its own page, its own plan, the Snow AI sign-in.
Pricing is being setNo figure until it’s final
- A baseline and up to five alternatives, with Get under the cliff
- The comparison, with every figure from Tax’s engine
- Scenarios sealed, export masked or in full, secure send
Model inside your Snow AI account
Add it to the account you use for other Snow AI apps. Anything your account already has is not charged again.
Pricing is being setNo figure until it’s final
- Everything in Model on its own
- The same engine your account’s Tax returns use
- Talking points from Pitch when the account has it
What having it in the family saves. Model on its own includes every figure Tax’s engine works out for it. Inside a Snow AI account, Tax, Memo, Pitch and the sign-in are ones the account may already have, and none of them is paid for a second time. The figures will be set out here, side by side, once pricing is final.
What’s included where
| Capability | Model on its own | Inside your Snow AI account |
|---|---|---|
| A baseline and up to five alternatives | Included | Included |
| Get under the cliff | Included | Included |
| The comparison, with the lines in Tax’s own words | Included | Included |
| Scenarios sealed, every open logged | Included | Included |
| Export, masked or in full | Included | Included |
| Snow AI Tax’s engine | Every figure, through Model | The same engine the account’s Tax returns use |
| Secure send | Through Memo, with a link and a code | The same Memo the account uses |
| Talking points from a comparison | When you add Pitch | Included when the account has Pitch |
| Snow AI sign-in | Opens Model | One login for every app on the account |
| Coming, in both | A Scenarios tab inside Tax, GetCovered, the CRM and PortalGetCovered’s real benchmark premiumAn HSA’s yearly limit, checked by Tax’s engineSelf-employed health insurance worked out with the credit | |
A Snow AI customer never pays for the same thing twice. If your account already has a capability through another Snow AI product, Model uses it and doesn’t charge for it again.
Part of Snow AI
Model does the scenarios. The family does the rest.
Model is one app in the Snow AI family, on the same sign-in. It asks Tax for the figures, hands the words to Pitch, and sends through Memo.
Tax works out every figure
Snow AI Tax’s engine is the one source of the numbers. Model sends it every case and reads back each return, so the two never disagree.
About TaxPitch puts it into words
Pitch turns a comparison into a headline, talking points and questions to ask, quoting every figure exactly as Model gave it. Model does the numbers; Pitch does the words.
About PitchMemo sends it securely
A full comparison goes out as a secure Memo link with a code, an expiry and a limit on opens. Nothing is emailed from Model itself.
See the appsQuestions
Before you start.
Anything else, write to support@snowai.app and a person will answer.
Is this tax advice?
No. Model is general information, not tax advice. It shows what the figures do under the year’s rules, for the inputs you give it. For a decision about your own taxes, talk to a tax professional.
Where do the figures come from?
From Snow AI Tax’s engine. Model sends every case to it in one call and works out no line of tax of its own. It only adds up the year: federal tax, the credit kept, the net cost of cover, money put away and cash left.
What is the 2026 subsidy cliff?
In 2026 there is no premium tax credit at all once household income is above 400% of the poverty line, so one dollar over can cost the whole credit. In 2025 there is no cliff: above 400% the credit continues at the table’s last figure.
What does “best” mean?
The case that keeps the most: cash left plus money put away, since an IRA or an HSA is still yours. If two cases tie, the earlier one is marked.
What can’t Model work out yet?
Tax’s engine takes an HSA contribution as given: it does not yet check the year’s limit, or that the plan is one an HSA may go with. It also does not work self-employed health insurance and the credit out together. Both show as notes under the table, and both belong in Tax’s engine.
Who can open a scenario?
Whoever made it, the owner and admins of its agency if it has one, and the suite owner. To anyone else it does not exist. Every open is logged before it happens.
Which years and filing statuses?
Tax years 2025 and 2026, and every filing status: single, married filing jointly or separately, head of household, and qualifying surviving spouse.
How much does it cost?
Pricing is being set, and no figure is shown until it is final. Inside a Snow AI account, anything the account already has is not charged again.
See the outcome before you choose.
Put in where you start, pull a lever, and compare. General information, not tax advice.