Health Insurance plans for the self-employed have been much maligned lately. This is primarily because Health Insurance for businesses has gotten so expensive. This does not have to be the case however. In fact, if you own a small business, or are an individual with a very small business, this can be one of the best ways for you to get Health Insurance.
Individual Health Insurance can be very difficult and even more expensive to get. But, even if you're a small business of one, consider making your family employees. If your family members are employees of your business, they can easily qualify for insurance under a Health Insurance plans for self-employed plan. If you actually do have employees, (other than your family) then they can actually be included as well.
Best of all, how you plan to offer the Health Insurance benefit to your employees, is completely up to you. For instance, it is not necessary for you to pay the entire premium for your employees. You can pay a smaller portion of the premium if you wish. You can also require employees to pay a larger percentage of the premium if they engage in habits that you know will increase your insurance premium like smoking. In this way you can make your employees directly responsible for their own health behavior.
The other advantages that self-employed can take advantage of, is joining a group. In my local area, there is a council of smaller enterprises also known as cozy that small businesses in the self-employed field can join. Plans like this include your business in a larger purchasing group. This can help make Health Insurance cheaper for you and the entire group.
The only caution I would offer, is the care you should take in the application process. How you apply for Health Insurance plans for self-employed can make a very big difference in what you will pay. The details about what you should attend to in the application process are beyond the scope of this article. But, I can tell you now that you should make sure that you have medical chart information and medical information bureau data base information on you and all the employees that you want to enroll in the plan. This alone can say a few tons of money.
Last but not least, once you have your self employed insurance, you may generally deduct the premiums from your taxes. To do this there are a few qualifications you must meet:
1. The health insurance plan must be established under your business and not yourself. The only exception to this is if you are filing a schedule C or C-EZ. In that case you may use your name or the business.
2. If you have any partners in your business the policy can be either in the name of the partnership or in the name of the partner. In this case you or your partner can be the ones that make the payments. If the policy is in your name and you pay the policies yourself, the partnership must reimburse you and report the premium amounts on Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) as guaranteed payments to be included in your gross income.
3. Simply record the deduction on Form 1040, line 29. I must remind you that I am a Health Industry and Health Insurance expert and NOT a Tax expert. Consequently, I must refer any tax related questions or concerns you have to your tax advisor. But as far as health insurance for the self employed is concerned, I know that this can be done and these are the rules up to and including 2009.
I must remind you that I am a Health Industry and Health Insurance expert and NOT a Tax expert. Consequently, I must refer any tax related questions or concerns you have to your tax advisor. But as far as health insurance for the self employed is concerned, I know that this can be done and these are the rules up to and including 2009.
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