Self-Employed Individuals ? Are You Writing Off Your Health Insurance?

Posted by Nick Niesen on October 29th, 2010

Being self-employed offers freedoms that traditional jobs usually can?t match. Self-employed individuals can work from home, set their own hours, and be their own bosses. They can choose their own work assignments, provide the services they want to provide, and even choose their own wages.

Yes, self-employed individuals are living the life ? until it comes to health insurance, that is.

Most self-employed individuals, or individuals who work as independent contractors for a particular company, have to purchase their own health insurance policies. Without a traditional employer, there?s no one to offer a health insurance package, right? So, self-employed individuals either purchase an individual health insurance policy, or they pay for the cost of health care completely out of their own pockets. For some, this seems like a pretty even trade; for others, it doesn?t. Health insurance is a perk of many career choices, after all.

But, for all self-employed individuals, or individuals who work as contractors, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. When tax season rolls around, many self-employed individuals and individual contractors have the option of writing off their health insurance costs, or even out-of-pocket health care costs. This means self-employed individuals and individual contractors have a chance at getting back a percentage of the money they spent towards health care.

Not everyone is familiar with writing off individual health insurance or out-of-pocket health care costs, especially those self-employed individuals who are fairly new to the world of self-employment. If you?re a self-employed individual, or an individual who works as an independent contractor for other companies, consider contacting the IRS and finding out the necessary steps involved in writing off your individual health insurance or out-of-pocket health care costs. You may also want to talk with an accountant, or someone experienced with tax preparation. When tax season comes, you?ll be prepared to start writing off your individual health insurance or out-of-pocket health care costs.