Health Insurance Deduction. Enter 100% of the amount paid for health and dental insurance premiums. This includes all supplemental health insurance, such as Medicare B supplemental medical insurance and Medicare D voluntary prescription drug insurance program (not “Medicare tax withheld” on your W-2), and long-term nursing home coverage. The deduction must be reduced by the amount of any premium reimbursement from Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs). Schedule A may not contain any health insurance premiums which were used as a deduction on line 18. Note that no deduction is available to any individual who paid health insurance premiums on a pretax basis.
MARRIED SEPARATE FILERS: If one spouse is employed and has health insurance premiums paid through wages, that spouse will claim the entire deduction. If both spouses pay health insurance premiums through their wages, each spouse will claim what he or she paid.
If both spouses have self-employment income, the deduction for self-employed health insurance must be allocated between the spouses in the ratio of each spouse’s self-employment income to the total selfemployment income of both spouses. If health insurance premiums are paid directly by one spouse, that spouse will claim the entire deduction.
If both spouses paid through a joint checking account, the deduction is allocated between the spouses in the ratio of each spouse’s net income to the total net income of both spouses. For this net income calculation, do not include line 18, the health insurance deduction.