Deducting Health Insurance Premiums When You’re Self-Employed

• Health Insurance

In this day and age, health insurance is something that we all need to have but have different ways of getting it. Health insurance is expensive. If you work for a company that offers insurance, you won’t have to worry about deducting it from your taxes, but if you have been paying out-of-pocket for your health insurance and living on a self-employed income, you might be able to deduct the total dollar amount from your taxes. There are specific criteria you will have to meet in order to be able to make this deduction. In this article, we will discuss what the self-employed health insurance is and how you can deduct your monthly health insurance premiums. 

What is the self-employed health insurance deduction?

Because it doesn’t require itemizing, the self-employed health insurance deduction is considered an “above the line” deduction. If you are able to claim it, doing so lowers your adjusted gross income (AGI). 

This tax deduction gives self-employed people an opportunity to deduct the following medical expenses:

• Medical insurance.
• Dental insurance.
• Qualified long-term care insurance. 

One benefit of this tax deduction is that it’s not only useful for your own health insurance expenses. If you are paying for health insurance for dependents, children or your spouse, you may also deduct these premiums at the end of the tax year. 

How to claim the deduction if you are self-employed

If you are self-employed such as a freelancer or an independent contractor, you can deduct any health insurance premiums that you paid for yourself, your dependents, and your spouse. If you are a farmer, you would report your income on Schedule F and if you are another kind of sole proprietor, you would report on Schedule C. You may also be able to take this deduction if you are an active member of an LLC that is treated as a partnership, as long as you are taking in self-employed income. This same rule of thumb goes for those who are employed by S-corporations and own 2% or more of the company’s stock. Self-employed people who also pay supplemental Medicare premiums, such as those for Part B coverage can also deduct these. 

You won’t be able to take the deduction if:

• You or your spouse were eligible for health insurance coverage through an employer and declined benefits. If you have a full-time job and are running your own business on the side, this could be a situation you face. Alternatively, perhaps your spouse works a regular full-time employer and had the option to add you to a health insurance plan through their job. 

• Your self-employment income cannot be less than your insurance premiums. In other words, you must have earned an amount of taxable income that is equal to or greater than the amount you spent in healthcare premiums. For example, if your business was to earn $15,000 last year, but you spent $20,000 in health insurance premiums, you would only be able to deduct $15,000. If your business lost money, then you won’t be able to deduct at all. 

One of the major differences between the health insurance tax deduction and other tax deductions for self-employed people is that it’s not taken on a business return or a Schedule C. It is considered an income adjustment, in which case, you must claim it on Schedule 1 that is attached to your Form 1040 federal income tax return. 

Final Thoughts

Self-employed people, such as freelancers, independent contractors and small-business owners, might have the opportunity to deduct their health insurance premiums from their taxes. As long as your business made a profit for the previous tax year and you were not eligible for a group health insurance plan, you should be able to take this deduction. If you’re not sure whether or not you meet the criteria, you may seek advice from a tax professional. You will need to fill out all of the necessary forms to qualify for a deduction. To make this process as seamless as possible, it’s important to keep track of all your business records.

Source: pocketyourdollars.com