Can I get Obamacare if I am self employed?

The Marketplace was largely built for people in your situation. How to report an income that moves, and the tax deduction most people miss.

Updated September 3, 2026 · 3 min read · by Gerino Alejos

Key points

The Marketplace wants the income you expect for the coming year after business expenses, not everything you took in.
Estimating low gives you a bigger credit each month, and you pay that difference back when you file.
Self employed people can generally deduct what they pay for health insurance, even if they take the standard deduction.

Yes. The Marketplace, the government site where you buy your own health plan, was largely built for people who work for themselves. If you have no employees, it is usually the first place to look for coverage.

Reporting income when it moves

Self employed people lose money here, in both directions.

The Marketplace asks what you expect to have left for the coming year after business expenses, not everything you took in. Reporting your gross receipts instead is a common mistake. It can cost you the whole subsidy, the government help that lowers your monthly bill.

Start from the net profit on last year's Schedule C, the tax form where you report business income.
Adjust for anything you know is changing: a contract ending, a client added, a slower season.
If your income swings widely, estimate toward the middle of the range rather than the top.
Update the Marketplace whenever the picture changes, not at tax time.

Estimating low gives you a bigger credit each month, more help with the bill. You pay that difference back when you file. Estimating a little high is the safer error, because then the money comes back to you.

The deduction most people miss

Self employed people can generally deduct their health insurance premiums, the monthly bills for the plan. That includes premiums for a spouse and dependents. It comes off as an adjustment to income, not as an itemized deduction. So you get it even if you take the standard deduction.

The premium tax credit is the help the Marketplace pays toward your premium. How the deduction works with it is complicated. The deduction changes your income. Your income changes the credit. And the credit changes the deduction. Whoever prepares your taxes should handle it. Just make sure they know you have Marketplace coverage, and give them your Form 1095-A.

If you have employees

The rules are different. Small employers may look at SHOP coverage, the small business side of the Marketplace. Another option is a qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangement. That lets you pay employees back for individual coverage without the money being taxed.

Both are worth a phone call before you pick one.

Choosing a plan when income is unpredictable

Cost sharing reductions are extra savings on what you pay when you use care. They only apply at the Silver level, one of the metal levels plans are sorted into. So Silver is usually the answer if you qualify.
If your income is hard to predict, consider taking a little less credit in advance and collecting the rest at tax time. It costs you more each month. It also removes the risk of owing.
Look at the out of pocket maximum, not the premium. That is the most you can pay in a year before the plan covers the rest. A bad year in business and a bad year in health can land together. That is what you are insuring against.

See deductibles and maximums and the metal levels.

One thing to set up now

Put a reminder in your calendar for the first week of November. Add another for any month your income changes in a real way.

Open enrollment, the yearly window when anyone can sign up, runs November 1 to January 15. The rest of the year you need a qualifying event, a change in your life that opens a window of its own.

See special enrollment periods and how the credit works. If you want help putting a number on next year's income, we can work through it with you. Call our McAllen office at (956) 687 3334, or enter your ZIP code in the box on this page.

Common follow-up questions

What income figure do I report?

Your expected net self employment income for the coverage year, meaning what is left after business expenses. Not gross receipts.

Can I deduct my premiums?

Generally yes, as an adjustment to income rather than an itemized deduction, so you get it even with the standard deduction. How it works with the credit is complex, so hand your preparer Form 1095-A.

What if I have a great year unexpectedly?

Report it to the Marketplace as soon as you know. Your credit adjusts going forward, which avoids a large repayment at tax time.

Want this looked at properly?

We are an independent agency in McAllen serving Hidalgo, Cameron and Starr counties. There is no obligation to talk it through.

Call (956) 687 3334

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