Busy husband = happy husband. That alone would make me want to support business ideas. 
4 Likes
Yep. My mom told me years ago, âGet that husband some rental properties before he tears your house apartâ. She was right!
3 Likes
AFAIK you can only deduct health insurance premiums against the net income of your business. Any amount that exceeds the net income can be itemized on schedule A and is subject to the 7.5% limitation.
If your net income is zero or negative (which it sounds like your greenhouse biz would be for a while), it wonât help with writing off health insurance.
1 Like
However, you can deduct health insurance premiums against the net income from an agricultural business (schedule F), so harvesting timber might be the way to go.
1 Like
Man oh man, this is confusing! We definitely need to figure out the way to go before dropping any serious money on it.
2 Likes
Iâve been on our high deductible plans for many years (at least 10). The way ours is set up is that itâs great for people who donât use health insurance much OR for people who need it a LOT! Itâs the in between people where itâs problematic.
I save (for employee plus spouse) $9000/year in lower premiums and the employerâs contribution to the HSA. When we were a family, it was even more.
The deductible is much higher, but the out of pocket maximum (for employee/spouse or family) is $2000 lower than the low deductible plan. After I pay the $5000 (per person), everything is free. Also, this doesnât apply to me, but it helps many others, certain âmaintenanceâ drugs like BP, cholesterol are free. That isnât the case on the low deductible plan.
Then, if you are âlucky,â you might not have to pay the full $5000 deductible. I had a procedure at the hospital this year and had to pay the $5K⊠but, if you paid in full when you showed up, you got a 20% discount. I got a $1000 discount - plus my credit card bonus miles with no credit card fee added - and insurance was never notified. As far as they are concerned, I paid $5K. H got something similar when his hip was replaced.
But most people here still donât do it, because they donât have the $5000 to spend if they need it up front.
3 Likes
The hospital sent your insurance a bill that showed that you paid $5k?
No. The hospital filed the procedural charges to the insurance company. The insurance company sends the hospital an EOB saying the patient (me) owes $5,000 and the insurance company paid the rest. The hospital charges me $5000 and gives me 20% off. They donât tell the insurance company they gave me a discount.
5 Likes
Unless you set up a C Corp, then you carry forward the losses until you have offsetting profits. There are some limitations on how much of the losses you can use each year.
2 Likes
A UIT is a good idea for your FA, who will be making a profit on it.
2 Likes
If youâre looking for another good place for glasses, Iâve used EyeBuyDirect for years with great results. They seemingly have sales every single month, and itâs worth signing up for their promotional emails to stack their promotions. For example, Iâll buy 3 pairs of prescription sunglasses from them at once, just so I can have pairs stashed in different places; itâs very inexpensive.
I do buy boutique glasses from France every few years or so because theyâre gorgeous and unique, but at the same time I order a few pairs of progressives from EyeBuyDirect to have on hand when Iâm digging in the dirt, riding a bike, or going to be on a boat (I get lots of compliments on them as well!).
4 Likes
You know, looking at all my tax forms, it looks like on the Schedule 1, self employment, they allow you to fully deduct medical/dental insurance. However, if youâre also using Schedule C for a sole proprietorship, you have to show a net profit. But it doesnât appear that you need any more than $1 of profit, to fully deduct it, and it appears this restriction is just for health insurance.
Iâll stop boring everyone with this, but my conclusion is that we donât need to start any new retirement business or buy a bunch of greenhouses next year. We just need to do a small timber harvest, enough to at least eek out more profit than expenses from the forestry property. Always easier to work with something youâre familiar with, I think.
Hopefully this conversation is helpful to those who are getting strangled by insurance premiums in retirement, when their employer isnât paying for them any more. Maybe they can deduct them with a small business.
1 Like
No thatâs not correct. Thereâs a worksheet to fill out to calculate the deduction and it caps it to the net income shown on schedule C.
3 Likes
Ah, thatâs unfortunate. I didnât see that in the directions, nor in my forms. So maybe weâll need to do a larger timber harvest instead.
Canât use the drug co savings cards if youâre on a federal govât medical plan, either. I was on a trial for a recently released chemo drug and was supposed to get the study drug for free. The study coordinator sheepishly came to me later and said that my drug costs wouldnât be covered.
Iâm on a couple of those $$$ drugs and weâll be keeping Hâs fed coverage in retirement because we canât afford those meds for very long if they come off the formulary.
2 Likes
AARP Bulletin Oct 2024 has an article about the most expensive and frequently used pills and injections to treat various conditions that are covered under Medicare Part D. Newly negotiated prices for 2026 listing the top 10, including blood thinner Xarelto and Eliquis. 30-day supply of Xarelto, current $517, new price $197; 30-day supply of Eliquis current $521, new price $231.
So that gives me a headâs up that we will have about the same Part D cost for DH for 2025 but most likely if he stays on same meds, will have lower Part D cost for 2026.
At some point Eliquis and Xarelto will be open to generic, and then DH will be spending even less on Part D.
Januvia 30-day supply is currently $527, and new price will be $113.
Embrel 30-day supply is $7106, new price $2355.
Still will want very good drug coverage!
Doesnât the new $2,000 cap for out of pocket drugs cover all of those once you hit the $2k? So youâd never spend more than $167/month for drugs? Not sure how that works yet, as Iâve never paid anything for drugs yet, and I take a lot, just my premiums.
Social Security 2.5% COL increase for 2025. Iâll take it.
Social Security announces 2025 COLA increase: Hereâs how much more youâll get - al.com
2 Likes
But will it all be offset by an increase in the Medicare premium? Thatâs what usually happens with the small COLAâs.
2 Likes
For meâŠprobably. The COLA is calculated on my benefit that is reduced because of WEP and GPO. A 2.5% increase wonât be enough to buy lunch out.
1 Like