Thank you @DMarkM1 and @Opus 17 !
I searched high and low and could not find it. I was skimming that part of the P353, but that makes sense. Logically it didn't make sense that it would be allowed prior to the start of the business.
And thank you @Opus 17, I appreciate that additional comment. In fact, it was also something I was trying to determined (whether it was active or having income). I didn't register the DBA until later in the year, but I was operating under my name and building out my professional website and conducted networking activities and pursuing leads. It wasn't until later in the year that I landed a large client that I have been working with ever since. So technically the business was active, but I wasn't sure if it mattered if there was income or not.
I know that one of the requirements to be eligible is that the business has to have a net profit, so I thought perhaps it was also tied to whether or not income considered it active.
So to summarize, I was laid off in February. I started advertising my professional services immediately thereafter. For the next few months I was creating a professional services website to advertise my services (building out my online portfolio, etc.). I also have a few pursuits that fell through during this time and then eventually around August I closed a deal which kicked off in September.
So given this, during the months of April to August, it would be considered an active business, but I was not profitable until October of 2021. Therefore, based on the definition of "Active", I assume I can in fact claim these health insurance premiums. And in fact, I think that also means I should be eligible to also include the home office sq footage expenses for the months of April to August (currently I have only listed the months I was a receiving income from my client).
Does that sound right to you @Opus 17 . Thanks again, I always appreciate your very insightful comments!
