Surviving spouse retiree health insurance premiums and self employment deduction

[gotcha1222]

My wife passed away a few years ago. She worked for a large company and she retired from that company just before she died. Since then, our kids and I have been covered under that company's retiree health plan, with me paying 100% of the premiums.  In 2022 I earned some self-employment income (as a sole prop). Can I offset that income on schedule 1, line 17, with the premiums I paid for this health insurance? On my 1095-C, it shows the code "1G" for me and my kids, for all 12 months.  1G says "You were NOT a full time employee for any month of the calendar year but were enrolled in self-insured employer sponsored coverage for one or more months of the calendar year".  So is this considered employer-subsidized health coverage if it's their retiree plan, even though I wasn't an employee (my late wife was)? As I mentioned, I paid 100% of the premiums for 2022...it was not subsidized by the company. However, I recently learned that in 2023, the company WILL start subsidizing my premiums in the $400-$500 per month range. So can I take the insurance premium deduction for 2022 on schedule 1, line 17?  What about for my 2023 return?

[PattiF · Accepted solution]

Yes, you can take the insurance premium deduction that you paid for in 2022 and include it as a self-employed health insurance expense on Schedule 1, Line 17. For next year, you can only claim the amount that you pay out of pocket for health insurance. Do not include the subsidies that the company pays.