However, health care plans have become much more affordable for the self-employed. Learn how you may be able to deduct your health insurance premiums and reduce your out-of-pocket health care costs—all while running your own business.
Are Self-Employed Health Insurance Premiums Deductible?
Under certain circumstances, self-employed individuals can deduct the amount they’ve spent on health insurance coverage for themselves and their families during a tax year—even though this is a personal expense, not a company cost. Eligibility requirements apply to this deduction.
How the Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction Works
The self-employment health insurance deduction enables qualifying self-employed individuals to deduct the total amount that they’ve spent on health care premiums during a tax year from their net income. However, you can only deduct up to the amount that your business earned that year.
Who Is Eligible?
To be eligible for a self-employed health insurance deduction, you can’t have been eligible to participate in a health plan subsidized by your employer or the employer of your spouse, child, or dependent—whether or not you actually participated in that plan. This aspect of eligibility applies monthly, so if your spouse started a new job in June, and you qualified to join their employer-sponsored health plan, you could only claim the self-employed health insurance deduction for January through May. Additionally, you must meet one of the following requirements:
You were self-employed for the tax year and earned a net profit that you reported on Schedule F or Schedule C. You were a partner and reported net earnings from self-employment on Schedule K-1, box 14, code A. An S corporation (in which you own more than 2% of the shares) paid you wages during the tax year. You figured out your net earnings from self-employment on Schedule SE using one of the optional methods.
Whether you are self-employed, a partner, or a shareholder in an S corporation, your health insurance policy can be in your name or the name of the business. You can either pay the premiums yourself or have the company pay and report them.
What Can You Deduct?
You can deduct the total amount you spent on premiums for medical, dental, and qualified long-term care insurance for you, your spouse, and your dependents. However, there are some exceptions. You can’t deduct:
Amounts paid during months you were eligible to sign up for a health plan subsidized by your employer or the employer of your spouse, dependent, or child Amounts paid by retired public safety officers from nontaxable retirement plan distributions Amounts that were used to claim the Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) or receive reimbursement of the HCTC during the year Amounts paid for coverage where you received HCTC monthly advances
How Much Can You Deduct?
You can deduct 100% of your qualifying health care premiums up to the amount your business has earned in net income for the year.
ACA Tax Credits Mean More Savings for the Self-Employed
The Affordable Care Act introduced premium tax credits (PTCs). These refundable credits help qualifying Americans pay their premiums for health insurance coverage purchased through the Marketplace. To qualify for a tax credit, you can’t:
Be eligible for affordable coverage through an employer-sponsored planBe eligible to enroll in a government plan like Medicare, TRICARE, or MedicaidMiss payments on your health insurance premiums by the original due date of your tax returnFile your tax return with the status “married filing separately"Be a dependentHave a household income that’s less than 100% or, for tax years other than 2021 and 2022, more than 400% of the federal poverty line for your household size
To get a PTC, enroll in health insurance coverage through the Marketplace and request financial assistance. The PTC amount you qualify for will be estimated based on your family size, household income, and eligibility for non-Marketplace coverage. Your estimated credit, if you qualify for one, will be paid in advance directly to your insurance company on your behalf. This reduces your out-of-pocket monthly expenses.
How To Deduct Self-Employed Health Insurance Expenses
To deduct your health care expenses as a self-employed individual, you’ll need to fill out line 17 on Schedule 1 (Form 1040). It reads, “Self-employed health insurance deduction,” and has a place to enter the amount.
What About Medical Expenses?
Medical expenses can be deducted if you itemize your deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040). You can deduct medical expenses that add up to more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. The expenses can include money you spent to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent disease, as well as payments to treat any structure or function of the body. You can also include payments made for insurance premiums that exceed the amount of net income you earned in a year.
