Two separate Schedule Cs: Self-Employed Health Insurance entries on Sch C Line 15 don't combine on Form 1040, Line 29.Only one is shown; How to sum these?

[adrosenbaum]

Two Schedule Cs: Husband's business + Wife's business. Both have legitimate, separate Self-Employed Health Insurance entries on Sched. C, Line 15; But they do not combine on Form 1040, Line 29; only the entry for one business is shown. Can this be fixed, so that the full payments for self-employed health insurance for both businesses are shown, summed together, (and deducted) on 1040? Thank you.

[Lisa995]

Do you both show a profit on your Sch C's?

[adrosenbaum]

One shows a profit, one shows a loss.

[dmertz · Accepted solution]

Each business has to stand on its own with regard to having sufficient income to fund and receive a deduction on Form 1040 line 29 for the self-employed health insurance payments.  Each business has to have sufficient net profit on Schedule C line 31 to cover the sum of self-employment health insurance deduction, the self-employed retirement deduction and the the deductible portion of self-employment taxes.  The business that shows a loss is not eligible for any of these deductions.

[meyer]

Yes, but a self employed person can take a deduction for both her health care premiums and those of her spouse if he was not eligible for a company sponsored plan.  He does not need to be an employee or contributor to her business at all.

[Zbucklyo]

That is correct, but those were not the facts presented.  Spouse A has health insurance; Spouse B has a separate policy.  If they had gotten a policy under which Spouse B was covered by Spouse A, and Spouse A had a net profit, they could deduct (essentially) up to the amount of the net profit.  But that isn't what happened.

[ckd259]

I agree with Zbuccklo. It is important that policy be drawn to cover both spouses if one is not elegible to take the deduction.  If you are in ACA plan see if there may be exception. IRS has made exceptions for S corps because ACA does not allow business plans for 2 people. If they made exception, then you might be able to tag both premiums to the profitable Schedule C...Keep in mind if you can't take full premium on line 29 it is still elegible for Schedule A...TT should have sent unused premium to schedule A. If need be nothing stops you from taking both premiums on Schedule A if that proves to work more in your favor.

[VolvoGirl]

Hey, Schedule C line 15 is for something else.  Your self employed health insurance should NOT show up on schedule C at all.  Only on 1040 line 29.  If you entered it as an expense on schedule C line 15 that is wrong and you will be deducting it twice. Line 15 says Insurance (other than health).  

Self-employed health insurance deduction goes on Form 1040 line 29, as long as the expense is not greater than your net self-employment income. If it does exceed your net self-employment income it gets split automatically. An amount equal to your net self-employment income goes on Form 1040 line 29, and the remainder gets added in to medical expenses on Schedule A.

[dmertz]

TurboTax's Schedule C forms-mode form has a box in margin to the left of line 15 where the amount paid for self-employed health insurance should appear (except in the case where Marketplace-purchased insurance is involved).  As VolvoGirl indicated, only health insurance paid for employees (other than the self-employed individual) should appear on the actual Schedule C line 15.

[VolvoGirl]

Employee health insurance doesn't go there either.  EE health will go under Employee Expenses as benefits (not under Insurance) and end up on line 14 not line 15.

[dmertz]

You are right, I should have said business insurance goes on line 15, not health insurance.  In fact the box in the left margin for SE health insurance is *under* the label for line 15, not on line 15.

[ronaldcox3883]

the "quick zoom" button on line 15 takes you to the worksheet for 1040 line 29

[VolvoGirl]

Yes?  That quick zoom is for self employed health insurance and long term insurance which do go to 1040 line 29.  They do not get filled in on line 15.  Are you still questioning it or were you just backing up that answer?

[ronaldcox3883]

just backing up!