Is HSA Plan Premium Tax Deductible for Self Employed

Health Insurance Costs for Self-Employed Persons

If you were self-employed and had a net profit for the year, you may be able to deduct, as an adjustment to income, amounts paid for medical and qualified long-term care insurance on behalf of yourself, your spouse, and your dependents. For this purpose, you were self-employed if you were a general partner (or a limited partner receiving guaranteed payments) or you received wages from an S corporation in which you were more than a 2% shareholder. The insurance plan must be established under your trade or business and the deduction cannot be more than your earned income from that trade or business.
You cannot deduct payments for medical insurance for any month in which you were eligible to participate in a health plan subsidized by your employer or your spouse's employer. You cannot deduct payments for a qualified long-term care insurance contract for any month in which you were eligible to participate in a long-term care insurance plan subsidized by your employer or your spouse's employer.
If you qualify to take the deduction, use the Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction Worksheet in the Form 1040 instructions to figure the amount you can deduct. But if any of the following applies, do not use the worksheet.
  • You had more than one source of income subject to self-employment tax.
  • You file Form 2555, Foreign Earned Income, or Form 2555-EZ, Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.
  • You are using amounts paid for qualified long-term care insurance to figure the deduction.
If you cannot use the worksheet in the Form 1040 instructions, use the worksheet in Publication 535, Business Expenses, to figure your deduction.



Note.

When figuring the amount you can deduct for insurance premiums, do not include any advance payments shown in box 1 of Form 1099-H. Also, if you are claiming the health coverage tax credit, subtract the amount shown on Form 8885, line 4 from the total insurance premiums you paid.

Also, do not include amounts paid for health insurance coverage with retirement plan distributions that were tax-free because you are a retired public safety officer.
Where to report. You take this deduction on Form 1040, line 29. If you itemize your deductions and do not claim 100% of your self-employed health insurance on line 29, include any remaining premiums with all other medical care expenses on Schedule A (Form 1040), subject to the 7.5% limit.
 
For premiums, what DS4 wrote. I am aware that there is a tax deductibility issue with the actual HSA account contributions if the owner/officer/partner/proprietor owns more than 2% of the business.
 
Disclaimer: I am not a tax professional, consult one on this matter.

In general:

Sole Proprietor - takes an above the line deduction for HSA contributions on their personal 1040 tax return.

Partnership - same as above

C-Corp-
Smart way: business has a POP Sect. 125 plan and pays the premiums directly (no FICA or income taxes).

S-Corp (more than 2% shareholder) - the business can not make the contribution for the employee (owner) and not have it show up as income for the owner.

The way to do it for an S-Corp owner is to increase their W-2 income and have the owner make the contribution out of their personal checking account (still pay FICA depending on their income level, but no income tax). Also, if appropriate, the business could give the owner a dividiend and then the deduction could be taken on their 1040 return (avoids FICA and income taxes).

Again, I am not a tax professional.
 
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