Can I deduct my FEHB health insurance as a self-employed federal retiree on Line 29 of Form 1040? Can I deduct my Medicare Part B premiums?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
June 5, 2019
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I retired from the federal government in 2010 but retained by federal health insurance benefits.

TurboTax Premier Mac

MichaelDC

Employee

Yes. If you are self-employed and eligible for the self-employed health insurance deduction, you can include your Medicare premiums in your self-employed health insurance deduction. It's a deduction on the front page of the 1040, line 29.

If you want these premiums to be part of the self-employed health insurance deduction, do not enter your Medicare premiums when entering the information from your SSA-1099 (Social Security Benefits). When you go through the questions for your business expenses, enter those premium expenses for self-employed health insurance premiums.

To add the self-employed health insurance to your return:

· Type self-employed health insurance deduction in the search bar.

· Click Jump to self-employed health insurance deduction. See the screenshot below.

· Continue the onscreen interview until you get to the Enter Your Business Expenses, choose Self-Employed Health Insurance Premiums. See the screenshot below.

(See the attached screenshot below. Click to enlarge.)

Some extra info:

If you or your spouse could participate (even if you declined coverage) in an employer's health plan at any time during a given month, you can't take the deduction for that month. However, payments for those months are deductible on Schedule A if you itemize deductions.

If you don't have a profit on your Schedule C, you won't get the self-employed health insurance deduction. Remove your Medicare premiums from your Schedule C and enter them with your Social Security information. TurboTax will transfer the amounts to your Schedule A, medical expenses.

Unfortunately, you can't include any insurance premiums paid by an employer-sponsored health insurance plan unless the premiums are included on your 1099-R (retirement Benefits) or Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement as taxable income.

Example.

You are a federal employee or retiree participating in the premium conversion plan of the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) program. Your share of the FEHB premium is paid by making a pre-tax reduction in your income. Because you are an employee whose insurance premiums are paid with money that is never included in your gross income, you can't claim the premiums paid with that money.

maine379Author

Thanks for this. Just to be sure I understand, I am currently getting health insurance through my former employer, the federal government, although the policy is in my name. Does that make me ineligible to deduct the premiums from that policy, and my Medicare premiums, on Line 29? Or doesn't it count as an employer-based health plan, because I am no longer employed by the federal government? Thanks!