Self Employed Advice and Resources

What about self employed health insurance?

An excerpt from one of our articles on Self Employed Health Insurance:

"Many people would like the opportunity to work for themselves — to not be responsible to an employer, to not punch a clock, to be their own bosses. But many of them are held back from realizing this dream for one common reason: they don’t want to loose the health insurance offered by their employers. This is especially true if they have families who depend on the health insurance, too. Choosing self employed health insurance can be a daunting task. Indeed, it is one that some people don’t even bother to investigate because they simply assume that health insurance of this type is unaffordable. But if they were to learn more about it, they might be surprised to discover that self employed health insurance may be an affordable option for them. Choosing self employed health insurance is even easier with the advent of the internet. Most of the large health insurance companies have very good websites that provide all sorts of quoting tools and information to assist you in choosing the right insurance if you are self employed. Netquote is a good example of such a service."

Read the rest of the article HERE

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HSA Guidance Section from the IRS

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A quick note on self employed health insurance:

People who are self-employed face the same dilemma as early retirees--the burden of getting health insurance in place is on their shoulders. The solution for healthy self-employed individuals is simple, according to author Paul Zane Pilzer. These folks should buy a high-deductible individual or family policy that is qualified to be paired with a health savings account, he says. "No one should ever go without health insurance, especially since it has now become affordable for most working people," says Pilzer. The national average price for an HSA-qualified high-deductible plan is $92 a month for a single person and $272 a month for a family plan. Even better, says Pilzer, is that self-employed individuals can deduct the entire cost of health insurance premiums from their taxable income. "So your aftertax cost will be even less," he says. Pilzer recommends self-employed people open an HSA and make the maximum tax-deductible annual contribution.

If you are self-employed but you or a family member has a preexisting condition, explore a guaranteed-issue insurance policy provided by a private insurer or from your state's risk pool, depending on where you live. The rest of the family should then apply for "healthy family" coverage.

One the most popular tax advantages:

Hefty Tax Savings Available for “Heavy” SUVs, Pickups, and Vans Placed in Service by 12/31/05
As you have probably heard, businesses can claim substantial deductions for heavy (over 6,000 pounds gross vehicle weight) SUVs and other vehicles used in business.

For heavy SUVs, businesses can deduct up to $25,000 of the SUV’s cost in the year it is purchased. Also, the rules that limit the amount of annual depreciation allowed on passenger automobiles do not apply to heavy SUVs. Meaning, the remaining cost of the vehicle can be written off over five years; potentially adding up to a substantial first-year deduction.

For example, the maximum first-year depreciation deduction for a $45,000 heavy SUV placed in service during 2005 and used 100% for business purposes will generally be $29,000 [$25,000 expense deduction + $4,000 MACRS deduction]. The maximum first-year depreciation deduction for a $45,000 passenger auto placed in service during 2005 and used 100% for business will only be about $3,000.

A heavy SUV is a passenger vehicle with an enclosed body, built on a truck chassis that has a gross vehicle weight rating—the manufacturer’s maximum weight rating when loaded to capacity—above 6,000 and less than 14,001 pounds. However, a vehicle that otherwise meets this definition is not classified as an SUV if:

It is equipped with a cargo area of at least six feet in interior length. The cargo area cannot be readily accessible directly from the passenger compartment, but it can be either open or enclosed by a cab. Many pickups with full-size cargo beds will qualify for this exception, but “quad cabs” and “extended cabs” with shorter cargo beds may not qualify. So when you go to the dealership, be sure to pack a tape measure.
It can seat more than nine passengers behind the driver’s seat, such as hotel shuttle vans.
It has an integral enclosure that fully encloses the driver’s compartment and load carrying device, does not have seating behind the driver’s seat, and has no body section protruding more than 30 inches ahead of the leading edge of the windshield, such as delivery vans.
For these heavy non-SUVs, the full expensing deduction ($105,000 for 2005) is available. This means that businesses will often be able to write off the full cost of the vehicle in the year it is purchased.

As you can see, the deductions for purchasing a heavy SUV (or non-SUV) for use in your business can be substantial.


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	Home \| Updated: 04/25/2008

As 2008 passes by, what is your biggest concern as a Self Employed Entrepreneur or Small Business Owner?

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What about self employed health insurance?

Updated Sections:

Hurricane Disaster Loan Information and Recovery Plans for small business owners and the self employed effected by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita: Disaster Biz Loans SBA Disaster FAQ Disaster Business Loans Home and Personal Property Disaster Loans Disaster Planning

HSA Plans HSA Guidance Section from the IRS

Hurricane Disaster Loan Information and Recovery Plans for small business owners and the self employed effected by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita:
Disaster Biz Loans
SBA Disaster FAQ
Disaster Business Loans
Home and Personal Property Disaster Loans
Disaster Planning

HSA Plans
HSA Guidance Section from the IRS