Most of your earnings may arrive from January through April, but health insurance premiums keep coming for all twelve months. Here's how bookkeepers and tax preparers running their own practices are finding ways to keep those monthly costs reasonable.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber. I'm based in Tampa and work as a licensed health insurance broker across 36 states. Everything can be handled by phone, and if you're busy running a tax practice, I'm happy to schedule our conversation for after tax season.
Tax preparers and bookkeepers are people I particularly like helping because much of the financial side is already familiar to you. You understand net earnings from self-employment, and you've likely walked a client through reconciling a premium tax credit they weren't thrilled about. What you may not know as well is the coverage side: which health insurance policies deserve consideration for your household and the right time to look at them.
Your profession doesn't always follow a typical income calendar. Some seasonal preparers bring in most of their annual revenue within roughly four months, while bookkeepers generally have steadier work even as clients change. Regardless of which describes your practice, here's how others in your field approach their insurance decisions.
It's a familiar question from your own client conversations: is your household's income for the insurance year expected to stay under the subsidy eligibility threshold?
That threshold is approximately four times the federal poverty level. For someone living alone, it's just over $60,000, with higher limits as more people join the household. If you're self-employed, you'll project your net earnings for the full year, and the marketplace uses that projection when determining eligibility.
The answer will vary with your practice's size and the results of your filing season. Someone operating a busy tax office with several preparers may easily exceed the limit. A preparer handling returns alone from home could remain considerably below it. Take a look at the situations below and see where yours falls.
For households earning below the threshold, marketplace coverage will generally be the most budget-friendly choice, since marketplace plans are the only ones eligible for those subsidies.
As a tax preparer or bookkeeper, you probably understand credit reconciliation better than most people I help. Your marketplace enrollment is based on projected income, and when your actual earnings exceed what you originally reported, you could have to repay part of the advance credit when you file your return. That projection gets tricky with seasonal work. A particularly profitable tax season or several additional bookkeeping accounts can change your annual total. Marketplace guidance for fluctuating earnings is to report your most reasonable estimate at the time and revise it when circumstances change. That's why I'd recommend reviewing your projection again after April.
Premiums aren't the only thing worth checking. I'll also help verify that the physicians you see participate in the plan's network, so you're not choosing solely on price.
Next step: Share your projected yearly earnings with me, and we'll choose marketplace coverage that suits your situation while accounting for the possibility of a particularly successful season.
An especially profitable filing season could move your household beyond the subsidy threshold. At that point, marketplace insurance comes at its full premium, which may be difficult to justify for a household in good health.
For that reason, I also discuss private, off-marketplace insurance with healthy professionals. These policies involve medical underwriting, meaning the insurer reviews your answers to health questions before deciding whether to accept you and how much to charge. When applicants are healthy, their premiums can be substantially below what they'd pay at full marketplace rates.
Because these policies operate through PPO networks with nationwide reach, they can be useful when your clients are spread across states, you travel once filing season is finished, or relatives live elsewhere in the country.
There are two things I want you to understand about this particular option. First, the insurer evaluates your medical history, which can result in rejection or an exclusion for an existing condition. Second, every policy has its own benefits and payment rules. We'll examine exactly what the plans you're considering cover before you make a decision.
Next step: Call me, and I'll compare the full marketplace premium for your household against a quote for nationwide PPO coverage.
Perhaps you're leaving a CPA practice or franchise tax office where health benefits were included, and now you're opening your own shop. Employer coverage normally ends when that employment ends. Losing it generally creates a 60-day special enrollment period for marketplace insurance. If you elect COBRA and then voluntarily cancel it before it expires, that doesn't trigger another enrollment period. We should work out your transition beforehand.
Projecting income during your first year in business can be particularly uncertain because you don't yet know how many former clients will move with you. We'll compare the available coverage routes against your likely earnings and figure out which makes sense.
Next step: Get in touch before you finish your current job, and we'll arrange for your replacement insurance to begin as your existing coverage ends.
Some state marketplaces list HMOs and EPOs without any PPO choices, while others offer PPOs at premiums that are simply too high. You still have alternatives. If you're healthy, I can provide quotes for nationwide PPO coverage throughout the 36 states where I'm licensed. Once your busy season ends, a short call can give you an idea of the price.
Chances are you already have these details readily available:
My assistance doesn't add anything to your bill. Once you enroll, the insurer compensates me, and your insurance premium is no higher because you worked with me.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
Start with your most accurate projection of net income for the entire year, and revise it as your earnings develop. The marketplace instructs people with fluctuating income to provide their current best estimate and make updates when their circumstances change.
Generally, yes, subject to the familiar restrictions. Your deduction is capped at the business's net profit, and you can't include months when employer-sponsored coverage was available to you, even through your spouse.
Not when you're the only person involved. Having at least one employee who isn't an owner or relative may make a small-business policy available. People you hire as contractors don't satisfy that employee requirement.
Yes. For healthy applicants whose income exceeds the subsidy threshold, I can quote private insurance using nationwide PPO networks throughout all 36 states where I hold licenses.
You likely have a pretty precise picture of your net income already. Give me that number, tell me who needs insurance, and share which physicians you want to continue seeing. I'll explain the coverage routes and what each would cost. If your existing policy is still your best fit, I'll be clear about that.
Tax preparers and bookkeepers in your state
Other lines of work I help