Retired - 1099-NEC received for medicare reimbursement

[MaryRich]

I am reimbursed by my former employer for my Medicare Part B premiums that are either deducted from my social security payment or paid by check when I first retired.

I received a 1099-NEC from my former employer for the amount of the reimbursement.

I entered this in TurboTax, and the program is assessing a self-employment tax.  I am not self employed and this amount was not wages.  There is no option to make a correction to the entry.

I take the standard deduction, so there is no option to report the income and then deduct it as a medical expense to zero it out.

Do I ignore the 1099-NEC?  Is there another way to address this?

[MinhT1]

If you receive a form 1099-NEC for a health insurance reimbursement, then you are not considered as self-employed and do not need to file a Schedule C.

In TurboTax, enter your form 1099-NEC and follow the interview until you arrive at the page titled Did this involve an intent to earn money?. Answer that this did not involve an intent to earn money. The amount will be reported as Miscellaneous income and will not be subject to Self-employment tax.

In TurboTax, there is a work-around. Although you may receive this income every year, say that you only receive the 1099-NEC only in 2020, not in previous years and not in 2021, you will then have the screen where you can say that it did not involve an intent to earn money.

[MaryRich]

Thank you.
Doing this would make the reimbursement taxable income. It shouldn’t be since it was a medical expense as well. How can I avoid having the reimbursement be taxed?

[MaryM428]

The 1099-NEC for your Medicare premiums is taxable income. 

Medicare expenses, including Medicare premiums, can be tax deductible. You can deduct all medical expenses that are more than 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income. Most people can't deduct their Medicare premiums pretax, unless they're self-employed.

To deduct the medical expenses enter them under Federal/ Deductions and Credits/ Medical for the question How much did you spend on insurance premiums?

@MaryRich