Читать книгу Small Business Taxes For Dummies - Eric Tyson - Страница 65

Many employees consider health insurance to be the most valuable benefit a company offers. In reality, it’s actually a retirement plan unless you have extensive health problems and use your health insurance a lot, which most people don’t.

Almost everyone needs health insurance (except perhaps the super-wealthy, like Bill Gates), but not everyone has it. Before Medicare, the U.S. government-provided insurance program that kicks in at age 65+, most folks obtained their health insurance through their employer. Employer-provided coverage eliminates the headache of each employee having to shop for coverage, and group coverage is usually less costly than coverage that individuals buy on their own.

Your small business may be eligible for a tax credit by providing health insurance to your employees and their dependents if you pay for at least half that cost. To qualify for the tax credit, which amounts to 35 percent of the health insurance premiums your business pays, your company must have fewer than 25 full-time employees, and their average wages/salaries must be less than $50,000 per year. You claim the credit on IRS Form 8941, “Credit for Small Employer Health Insurance Premiums.” (It’s available at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8941.pdf.) This credit is only permissible for two consecutive tax years after 2013.

The following sections list plan attributes to consider, explain the effect of recent healthcare reform, help you evaluate and buy insurance, and provide pointers on saving money on healthcare.