Your own health insurance premiums belongs on Schedule 1 line 17, schedule 1 line 17, self-employed health insurance.
Why schedule 1 line 17
Line 15 is insurance other than health, and the premiums covering you, your spouse and your dependents are specifically excluded from it. They come off on Schedule 1 as the self-employed health insurance deduction, limited to your net self-employment earnings and available only for months you were not eligible for a subsidized employer plan through your own job or your spouse's. Putting them on line 15 overstates business expense and understates self-employment tax, which is why this is one of the most expensive misplacements on the form.
Log it once, with the line already on it. Type an expense in plain words in ClaryBook and it is filed with a date, vendor, amount and what it was for, so the number your preparer needs for your own health insurance premiums is already written down.
Start for freeWhat your own health insurance premiums is confused with
- Line 15, insurance
- Line 15 takes every business policy except health: liability, property, workers compensation and the rest. Health coverage for the owner is the one that leaves Schedule C.
- Line 14, employee benefit programs
- Premiums for a W-2 employee's coverage are an employee benefit program on line 14; only the owner's own coverage goes to Schedule 1.
- Schedule A, schedule a, personal itemised deduction
- Premiums beyond your self-employment earnings limit fall back to medical expenses on Schedule A, where only the amount above the income floor counts.
Examples that belong on schedule 1 line 17
- A $612 a month marketplace silver plan covering you and your spouse
- $340 a month for a bronze plan while your only income is consulting work
- A qualifying long-term care policy premium within the age-based limit
- Dental and vision premiums for you and your dependents
- Medicare Part B and Part D premiums for a self-employed person past 65
What does not belong here
- A line 15 deduction, which reduces self-employment tax it should not touch
- Months you could have joined a spouse's subsidized employer plan
- Premiums already paid with pre-tax dollars through someone else's plan
- Amounts above your net profit from the business, which cannot create a loss
The limit that applies
The deduction cannot exceed your net profit from the business less the deductible part of self-employment tax, and it reduces income tax without reducing self-employment tax.
What to keep
Keep Form 1095-A or the carrier statements, proof you paid the premiums, and a note of any month you or your spouse had access to an employer plan.
Related lookups
- Where does general liability insurance go?
- Where does employee health insurance go on Schedule C?
- Where does state income tax go on Schedule C?
Sources
This page explains how Schedule C lines work. It is general information, not tax advice for your situation. If an expense is large or the answer turns on a fact about your business, confirm it with your tax preparer.
Looking for a different expense? The full Schedule C line lookup has every line from 8 to 27 with the expenses that belong on each, and Schedule C expense categories walks the whole form in order.
Log it once, with the line already on it. Type an expense in plain words in ClaryBook and it is filed with a date, vendor, amount and what it was for, so the number your preparer needs for your own health insurance premiums is already written down.
Start for free