State Taxes Contributions to High Deductible Health Plan

[iibarguen]

When completing the State (GA) portion, can I enter the premiums for my HDHP I made under COBRA? Including the 1 non-employee subsidized premium we deducted from my spouse's self-employment business?

[DavidD66]

Your question is not clear.  If this doesn't answer your question then please clarity.  You you are not eligible for the self-employed insurance deduction for health insurance obtained through COBRA, as the plan is still under your former employer’s name. 

[iibarguen]

You are really answering a different question which I thought I had already solved, that is: can I apply my COBRA health insurance premiums as a self-employed insurance deduction. I thought I read that as long as the company didn't subsidize the payments, I was allowed to do that. Isn't that the case?

My original question, or I guess now question #2, was: for State taxes, can I deduct the premiums for my HDHP I made under COBRA (some monthly premiums are subsidized and some are not)?

[CesarJ]

In Georgia, the deductibility of COBRA health insurance premiums for state income tax follows state laws, which generally align with federal treatment for the subsidy portion. The COBRA premium subsidy itself is typically not included as taxable income and thus not deductible as a premium cost.

For the non-subsidized portion—the premiums you actually pay out-of-pocket—these may be deductible as part of your medical expenses if you itemize deductions, similar to federal rules. However, Georgia does not provide a specific additional deduction for health insurance premiums beyond what federal itemized deductions allow.

Therefore, on your Georgia state return, you can potentially include the non-subsidized COBRA premiums you paid as part of your deductible medical expenses if you itemize. The subsidized part generally is not deductible since you did not bear that cost.

@iibarguen