You earn most of your year between January and April, and your health plan bills you all twelve months. Here is how tax preparers and bookkeepers who work for themselves are keeping coverage affordable.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber. I'm a licensed health insurance broker based in Tampa, licensed in 36 states, and I do everything over the phone. If you run a tax practice, we can easily wait and talk once the season is over.
I enjoy working with tax preparers and bookkeepers, because you already understand half of what I'm going to say. You know what net self-employment income is. You've probably explained a premium tax credit reconciliation to a client who didn't want to hear it. The part that tends to be new is the insurance side: which plans are worth a look for your own household, and when.
People in your line of work have an unusual shape to their year. A seasonal preparer may earn the bulk of their income in about four months. A bookkeeper's work is steadier, but clients come and go. Either way, here's how professionals like you are deciding.
It's the one you'd ask a client: will your household's income for the coverage year fall below the subsidy line?
The line is around four times the federal poverty level, which comes to a little over $60,000 for a single person and more for each additional household member. Self-employed people estimate their net self-employment income for the year, and the marketplace works from that estimate.
Where you'll land depends on how big your practice is and how your season went. A busy office with a few preparers working for you can clear the line comfortably. A one-person shop doing returns from home might fall well under it. Find your situation below.
If your household is under the line, the marketplace is usually your most affordable option, because subsidies only apply to marketplace plans.
You know the reconciliation risk better than most of my clients. You enroll on an estimate, and if you earn more than you reported, some of the advance credit can come back on your return. Seasonal income makes that estimate harder, because one strong filing season or a few new bookkeeping clients can move the total. The marketplace asks people with irregular income to report their best current estimate and update it as things change, so plan to revisit the number after April.
The other thing to check is the plan itself. We'll make sure your doctors are in the network, not just that the premium is low.
Next step: Send me your projection for the year and I'll help you choose a marketplace plan that fits it, with room for a strong season.
If a good season pushes your household past the line, the subsidy is gone and the marketplace charges full price. For a healthy household, that's often more than it's worth.
So I show healthy professionals private plans sold outside the marketplace. They're medically underwritten: you answer health questions on the application, and the insurer uses them to approve you and set the price. Applicants in good health can often come in noticeably below the full marketplace price.
These plans use PPO networks that work across the country, which is helpful if you see clients in more than one state, travel after the season ends, or have family far away.
Two cautions belong here, because they only matter on this path. Your health history decides whether you're approved and what's covered, so a condition can lead to a decline or an exclusion. And benefits vary from plan to plan, so we'll go through what any plan you're considering pays before you choose.
Next step: Call me and I'll put a nationwide PPO quote beside the full marketplace price for your household.
If you or someone in your household has a chronic condition or relies on a medication, I usually recommend staying on the marketplace even at full price. Marketplace plans can't turn anyone down or charge more because of their health. An underwritten plan can decline someone or exclude the condition they need help with most.
From there, the work is choosing well. We compare the plans available in your area against your doctors and prescriptions and pick the one that keeps your care in place.
Next step: Give me a list of your doctors and medications and I'll go through the local plans with you.
Maybe you've worked at a CPA firm or a franchise office with benefits, and you're going out on your own. Your health plan usually ends when that job does. Losing job-based coverage opens a special enrollment period, generally 60 days, to choose a marketplace plan. If you're on COBRA, ending it early by choice doesn't open that window, so let's plan the switch.
Your first year on your own is the hardest to estimate, since you may not know how many clients will follow you. We'll look at both paths and decide which fits the year you're likely to have.
Next step: Call me before your last day and we'll have your new coverage ready when the old plan ends.
Some marketplaces offer only HMO or EPO plans, and where a PPO exists, the price can be out of reach. That doesn't mean you can't have one. For healthy applicants, I can quote a nationwide PPO in each of the 36 states I'm licensed in. A quick call after the season will show you the number.
You probably have all of this at your fingertips already:
There's no cost to you for my help. The insurance company pays me when you enroll, and your premium doesn't change because you used me.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
Report your best estimate of the full year's net income, then update it as the year plays out. People with irregular income are told to report current estimates and revise them when things change.
Usually, yes, within the limits you already know: the deduction can't exceed the business's net profit, and it excludes months you could join an employer plan, including a spouse's.
Not for yourself. If you have at least one employee who isn't an owner or family member, a small-business plan may become an option. Contractors you pay don't count as employees for this.
Yes. If you're healthy and above the subsidy line, I can price private plans on nationwide PPO networks in all 36 states where I'm licensed.
You probably already know your net to the dollar. Tell me that, who needs to be covered, and the doctors you want to keep, and I'll show you which path fits and what it costs. If the plan you're on is already right, I'll tell you.
Tax preparers and bookkeepers in your state
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