How to Deduct Family Health Care Premiums Under Side Business
"No, not on schedule C, better. Its an ""above the line"" deduction (line 29 on your 1040). Here's the turbo tax article on it. The instructions for this line set certain limitations that you must take into the account, and yes - it is limited to the net profit from the business. One of the following statements must be true. You were self-employed and had a net profit for the year. You were a partner with net earnings from self-employment. You used one of the optional methods to figure your net earnings from self-employment on Schedule SE. You received wages in 2011 from an S corporation in which you were a more-than-2% shareholder. Health insurance premiums paid or   reimbursed by the S corporation are shown as wages on Form W-2. The insurance plan must be established under your business. Your   personal services must have been a material income-producing factor in   the business. If you are filing Schedule C, C-EZ, or F, the policy can   be either in your name or in the name of the business."
"HSAs as they exist today allow a person to contribute tax deductible money (like a traditional IRA) to a savings account.  The funds in the savings account can be spent tax free for qualified expenses.  If the money is invested it also grows tax free.  This means a discount on your cash health expenses of the amount you would have paid in taxes, which given your relative's income isn't likely to be very much. As HSAs exist today they must be paired to a qualified High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP).  Many plans have a deductible that meets or exceeds the level set by the regulations but many plans waive the deductible for things like X-Rays; waiving the deductible causes most ""high deductible"" plans to not qualify for HSA accounts. There are other qualified HSA expenses like Long Term Care (LTC) insurance premiums that can also be spent tax and penalty free from HSA funds. At age 60 with low income an HSA serves little purpose because the tax savings is so marginal and an HDHP is required.  That does not however mean that the scope of HSA availability should not be expanded.  Just because this is not a silver bullet for everyone does not mean it is of no use to anyone." Child care expenses aren't exactly deductible without the FSA, but if you can't use the FSA and end up paying them with after tax dollars, you can use these expenses to qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, which, depending on your circumstances, could save you more money than the FSA would have saved you. You can use it for medical expenses even if you don't have a high deductible policy. It can cover prescriptions, copays, deductibles, co-insurance, dentist, orthodontics... As long as it is being used for an approved medical expense there is no tax or penalty.  Yes it doesn't save you on the monthly service charges but it does allow you to cut your medical expenses for a while. As others have pointed out, post-tax dollars are what you'll use.  Just as a quick note, as you'll be using post-tax dollars; in the past, I've refused to take contractor plans because they almost always are inferior to what I've been able to get off the private exchange ehealthinsurance.  A few people have written excellent articles on Get Rich Slowly here and here about them in detail if you want more information. Generally, contractors (and sometimes employees) are offered a few plans (3-4), and this health exchange gives you a little more freedom to pick your plan, which in your situation may help.  It isn't always cheaper, but depending on your needs, you may obtain a better deal. Forgot to add this: this option has also made switching jobs easy as well since I don't have to pay COBRA.  While it depends on the situation, this can sometimes come out significantly cheaper.  For instance, if I were to take the employer health plan next year, I would lose ~$450 a month, whereas the private exchange option is ~$300.  But, if I were to switch jobs, decide to opt for self-employment, or a layoff, the COBRA would be even higher than ~$450. First off, you should contact your health plan administrator as soon as possible.  Different plans may interact differently with Medicare; any advice we could provide here would be tentative at best.  Some of the issues you may face: A person with both Medicare and a QHP would potentially have primary coverage from 2 sources: Medicare and the QHP. No federal law addresses this situation. Under state insurance law an individual generally cannot collect full benefits from each of 2 policies that together pay more than an insured event costs. State law usually specifies how insurance companies will coordinate health benefits when a person has primary coverage from more than one source. In that situation, insurance companies determine which coverage is primary and which is secondary. It’s important to understand that a QHP is not structured to pay secondary benefits, nor are the premiums calculated or adjusted for secondary payment. In addition, a person with Medicare would no longer receive any premium assistance or subsidies under the federal law. While previous federal law makes it illegal for insurance companies to knowingly sell coverage that duplicates Medicare’s coverage when someone is entitled to or enrolled in Medicare Part A or Part B, there has been no guidance on the issue of someone who already has individual health insurance and then also enrolls in Medicare. We and other consumer organizations have asked state and federal officials for clarification on this complicated situation. As such, it likely is up to the plan how they choose to pay - and I wouldn't expect them to pay much if they think they can avoid it.  You may also want to talk to someone at your local Medicare branch office - they may know more about your state specifically; or someone in your state's department of health/human services, or whomever administers the Exchanges (if it's not federal) in your state. Secondly, as far as enrolling for Part B, you should be aware that if she opts not to enroll in Part B at this time, if your wife later chooses to enroll before she turns 65 she will be required to pay a penalty of 10% per 12 month period she was not enrolled.  This will revert to 0 when she turns 65 and is then eligible under normal rules, but it will apply every year until then.  If she's enrolling during the normal General Enrollment period (Jan-March) then if she fails to enroll then she'll be required to pay that penalty if she later enrolls; if this is a Special Enrollment Period and extends beyond March, she may have the choice of enrolling next year without penalty. The rebate amount is a non-qualified distribution: IRS Pub 969 describes how the HSA works: Reporting Distributions on Your Return How you report your distributions depends on whether or not you use the distribution for qualified medical expenses (defined earlier). If you use a distribution from your HSA for qualified medical expenses, you do not pay tax on the distribution but you have to report the distribution on Form 8889. However, the distribution of an excess contribution taken out after the due date, including extensions, of your return is subject to tax even if used for qualified medical expenses. Follow the instructions for the form and file it with your Form 1040 or Form 1040NR. If you do not use a distribution from your HSA for qualified medical expenses, you must pay tax on the distribution. Report the amount on Form 8889 and file it with your Form 1040 or Form 1040NR. If you have a taxable HSA distribution, include it in the total on Form 1040 or Form 1040NR, line 21, and enter “HSA” and the amount on the dotted line next to line 21. You may have to pay an additional 20% tax on your taxable distribution. I looked at several plans regarding how to handle mistaken distributions: example A What if I accidentally use my HSA Visa debit card for a non-qualified expense?   To fix this problem, just bring that same amount into any local branch and tell us it was a Mistaken Distribution. We can then put the funds back into your HSA and correct the problem.  example B  You’re allowed to correct mistaken   HSA withdrawals when there is clear and convincing   evidence that amounts were distributed from an HSA   because of a mistake of fact due to reasonable cause. You   can correct the mistake by repaying the withdrawal   no later than April 15 following the first year that you   knew or should have known that the withdrawal was   a mistake. When a correction is made, the mistaken   withdrawal does not have to be included in gross   income or be subject to the 6 percent additional tax, and   the repayment does not count as an excess contribution.   If an error is made by SelectAccount in its role as the   administrator, SelectAccount will be responsible for   taking appropriate corrective action. Check with your plan trustee on their procedure to fix the mistaken withdrawal. COBRA premiums are not deductible on 1040 line 29; to qualify, the IRS says the insurance plan must be in your name (COBRA is in your former employer's name).  H&R Block confirms this. You are in business for yourself. You file Schedule C with your income tax return, and can deduct the business expenses and the cost of goods sold from the gross receipts of your business. If you have inventory (things bought but not yet sold by the end of the year of purchase), then there are other calculations that need to be done.  You will have to pay income tax as well as Social Security and Medicare taxes (both the employee's share and the employer's share) on the net profits from this business activity. I don't think you're stupid, evil, bad or anything like that.  I'm sure in fact that you are an intelligent, nice person who only wants the best for everyone.  I just think that you are in a willful mannor refusing to understand the difference between insurance and healthcare.  It's not that you are incapable, it is that you simply refuse to do so.  You are doing so to justify making the bad guy out of an industry whose goal is to make health-care accessible to as many people as possible by spreading out the cost of health-emergencies over time, which is mis-directed anger.  I fully appreciate and understand that most health-care is payed for via insurance.  However, this is entirely an artifact of business-tax deductions which make it cheaper for individuals to accept part of their compensation in the form of health insurance benefits.  Health care and insurance aren't intrinsically inseparable, they are bound together in the US due to the tax code.    So what you should be arguing for is the removal of business health-care tax deductions, and direct financial assistance for the poor.  This would make insurance and healthcare a more competitive market, which would in turn drive costs down, and by giving the money directly to the impoverished more of the benefit would reach them, rather than creating some huge bureaucracy that it has to be filtered through first.  But instead you are choosing to vilify a industry for not handing out free health-care, which is misguided at best. "Short answer, yes. But this is not done through the deductions on Schedule A. This can happen if the employer creates a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for its employees. This can be created for certain approved uses like medical and transportation expenses (a separate account for each category). You can contribute amounts within certain limits to these accounts (e.g. $255 a month for transportation), with pre-tax income, deduct the contributions, and then withdraw these funds to cover your transportation or medical expenses. They work like a (deductible) IRA, except that these are ""spending"" and not ""retirement"" accounts. Basically, the employer fulfills the role of ""IRA"" (FSA, actually) trustee, and does the supporting paperwork." "Chris, Joe's table helps.  but think this way:  there are two ways you can pay the taxes for your side-gig:  either you can send a check quarterly to the Feds, OR, you can overwithhold at your real job to cover taxes at your sidegig.  I'd do this in ""arrears"" -- after you get your first paycheck from sidegig, then adjust your real job's withholding. Except (and Joe neglected this), you're still responsible for Social Security / Medicare Tax from your sidegig.  I suspect your income at real-job is high enough that you stop paying Social Security Tax, so at least at this time of year you won't be subject to 15.4% Social Security Tax.  However, that's NOT true for the 2.9% Medicare Tax.  Remember that because you're an independent contractor being payed without withholding, YOU are responsible not only for the Medicare (and Social Security) taxes you'd be responsible for if a regular employee, but you're also responsible for what your employer's share as well." While the OP disses the health insurance coverage offered through his wife's employer as a complete rip-off, one advantage of such coverage is that, if set up right (by the employer), the premiums can be paid for through pre-tax dollars instead of post-tax dollars. On the other hand,  Health insurance premiums cannot be deducted on Schedule C by self-employed persons. So the self-employed person has to pay both the employer's share as well as the employee's share of Social Security and Medicare taxes on that money. Health insurance premiums can be deducted on Line 29 of Form 1040 but only for those months during which the Schedule C filer is neither  covered nor eligible to be covered by a subsidized health insurance plan maintained by an employer of the self-employed person (whose self-employment might be a sideline) or the self-employed person's spouse. In other words, just having the plan coverage available through the wife's employment, even though one disdains taking it, is sufficient to make a Line 29 deduction impermissible.  So, AGI is increased. Health insurance premiums can be deducted on Schedule A but only to the extent that they (together with other medical costs) exceed 10% of AGI. For many people in good health, this means no deduction there either. Thus, when comparing the premiums of health insurance policies, one should pay some attention to the tax issues too. Health insurance  through a spouse's employment might not be that bad a deal after all. It is important to remember that the tax brackets in the U.S. are marginal.  This means that the first part of your income is taxed at 10%, the next part at 15%, next at 25%, etc.  Therefore, if you find yourself just on the edge of a tax bracket, it really does not make any difference which side of that line you end up falling on. That having been said, of course, reducing your taxable income reduces your taxes.  There are lots of deductions you can take, if you qualify.  Depending on what type of health insurance coverage you have, a Health Savings Account (HSA) is a great way to shelter some income from taxes.  Charitable contributions are also an easy way to reduce your taxes; you don't really personally benefit from them, but if you'd rather send your money to a good cause than to Uncle Sam, that's an easy way to do it. You have two options for deducting childcare expenses in the US. Both are discussed in Publication 503.  You can claim the Childcare Tax Credit using Form 2441, which has instructions here. First, you can enroll in a dependent care FSA.  You enroll in this through your employer; either you or your spouse can.  $5000 can be deducted pre-tax from your paycheck to pay for childcare this way.  This does not have income limits. Second, you can claim a credit based on expenses up to $3000 per child, up to two children ($6000 total), for the Child Care Tax Credit.  This is combinable with the FSA, only for the last $1000 if you have 2+ children (so $6000 total between the two).  That has income limits to claim over 20% of the credit; so if you are in the 25% bracket, you will only get to claim 20% of the total, either $200 if you have an FSA or $1200 if you do not. Both spouses must work full time or have other qualifying details (such as being a full time student) in order to qualify for the credit; see publication 503 above for more information. Moody's came out with an analysis today saying the requirement could be slightly good for for-profit hospitals (Bad-debt charges will decline. The expansion of healthcare coverage under the law will lessen for-profit hospital operators’ exposure to bad debts, which in turn will improve margins and cash flow. However, we expect that the growth rate of Medicare reimbursements will also slow down, offsetting the benefit of lower bad-debt expense and making the overall credit impact of the ruling neutral to slightly positive), negative for pharmaceutical cos. (Pharmaceutical companies will continue to pay for the full adoption of the Affordable Care Act in the form of higher rebates to the government for Medicaid drug costs, discounts to seniors covered under Medicare Part D drug plans and a new industry fee) and slightly negative for medical device firms (Beginning Jan. 1, 2013, US medical-device product sales will be subject to a 2.3% excise tax; the excise tax will be tax-deductible, resulting in an estimated effective tax rate of 1.5% on US device revenues).