info for self employed folks

[questionseverything]

concerning the aca,i have not gotten thru to the main page but i did get thru to live chat help

some questions had been asked about whether the self employed used their gross income or their total income or their adjusted gross income

gross income is everything you receive and this before expenses...you do not use that number

total income is like net income and this is what you pay social security on (self employed people pay the entire amount as they have no employer to match)

then you get a credit for half of the ss you paid and that is your adjusted gross income...this is the number you use for the calculations

below is a copy/paste of that part of the live chat///////////

12:59:19 pm]: Joseph
To apply for lower costs through the Health Insurance Marketplace, you need to estimate your household's adjusted gross income for 2014. If you know your 2013 adjusted gross income, you can start with that amount and make any changes you expect in 2014.

//////////////////////////////

[riderinthestorm]

1. Thanks for this questionseverything. I was looking for that answer!

[questionseverything]

2. smiles,your welcome

health insurance has been such a problem for the self employed the aca at least gets us in the door to a more secure future

[uppityperson]

3. The amount is after the 1/2 of se tax? thanks

[questionseverything]

5. adjusted gross income is

line 37 of your 1040 tax return

lines 23 thru 35 are additional credits some folks may be able to use but EVERYONE gets line 27 (which is half of ss tax)

for example line 29 is your self employment health ins deductible

[uppityperson]

7. We all get line 27, line 29 is the other I took last yr, is a "maybe"?

Thank you for this, was trying to figure it all out also. I appreciate your time.

[questionseverything]

8. i thought i read we still get the

health ins deduction,the part of premium we pay (except for the smoking part of premium)

am i mistaken there?

[uppityperson]

10. On the 1040 we do, was wondering if that counts as far as ACA #s go.

I think we get it again last yr, did last year. Line 36 is total deductions for Adjusted Gross Income, line 37 is AGI, which is what we use. i think this is right, what you and they are saying?

Line 27 is Deductible part of SE, which we use, don't deduct the whole SE. The line 27 is comparable to what an employer would pay, if employee not SE, whereas the other part of the SE tax is what employees pay anyway. Into SocSec.

I think.

[questionseverything]

12. line 37 agi is what we use..thats what the

op is about and live chat with aca confirmed

on line 29 is the same except for now the premiums are split into regular premiums and smoking penalties,the smoking penalty part is non deductible but the regular part is deductible(as i understand it)

you explained line 27 correctly

[uppityperson]

14. Thank you. All is well, appreciate your taking the time to chat with them and us.

[LiberalAndProud]

4. Thanks for sharing.

I was waiting until the initial rush abated. (I do the same for buffet lines.) This is really helpful.

[questionseverything]

6. me too (about buffets)

i hate it when the shrimp is gone..lol

but seriously just trying to wade thru the info

[riderinthestorm]

9. So this seems as good a place as any to ask another question being self-employed

I have less than 10 employees. We've never had a group insurance plan for them (or us).

Do you happen to know if its possible to look at what plan options are offered as a self-employed individual/family AND then to get another look at the options as a small business?

[questionseverything]

11. first i want to make clear i am no expert

but from my experience on the live chat,they will give you an answer to any question with no personal info so you could look at options individually and then as a group without making any commitments

it only took about 20 minutes for the live chat guy to come on...

if you can not afford to cover your employees as a group in the small business part...your plan will still be considered a business plan(even one self employed person working alone is in this category)

i would also ask whoever prepares your taxes for advise,,,i would not want you to miss some big credit you might get for covering your employees for first time

but if you cant cover employees your employees will go to the site as individuals

good luck!

[riderinthestorm]

13. I'd LOVE to be able to offer it so I'm thrilled to think we can look at it both ways

You clearly have gotten more answers than I have.

I had no idea that my family and I would be considered a "business" plan even though right now we don't carry a business insurance plan and insure ourselves individually.

You may not be an expert but I now understand that when I CAN finally get through, I will go the "business" route instead of wasting time and bandwith trying to examine it from both the individual AND business route. You''ve certainly helped me today.



Thank you!

[questionseverything]

15. ty so much

i know when you are an employer in a small business,we get to thinking of employees as family and want to do the best we can for them

i really think small business is where most the growth in gdp is(or could be) and having access to health insurance should make that easier...so better for the country and for individuals

<smiles>