#health-insurance
Track health insurance costs and employee benefits
For 2026, ALEs face a $3,340 per-employee 4980H(a) penalty and a $5,010 per-employee 4980H(b) penalty, with affordability set at 9.96 percent of pay. This guide covers the FPL, W-2, and rate-of-pay safe harbors, line-by-line Form 1095-C coding, and the errors that drive Letter 226-J assessments.
A 2026 walkthrough of Form 8889 — HSA contribution limits ($4,400 self-only, $8,750 family), the triple tax advantage, the last-month rule's 13-month testing period, the Medicare six-month retroactive enrollment trap, and the six most common filing mistakes that trigger the 6% excess-contribution excise tax, 10% recapture, or 20% non-qualified-distribution penalty.
2026 rules for HSAs, FSAs, and HRAs — contribution limits, who owns each account, when each one wins, how to stack a Limited-Purpose FSA with an HSA without breaking eligibility, and how employees and employers avoid forfeitures.
A 2026 walk-through of HSA, FSA, and HRA rules with the new contribution limits, the limited-purpose FSA stack that adds up to $7,800 of pre-tax room, and how small employers can use ICHRA and QSEHRA to compete with corporate benefits.
Section 7702B defines tax-qualified long-term care insurance — age-indexed premium deductions up to $6,200 per person in 2026, tax-free benefits under the per diem cap, Section 1035 exchanges from old life or annuity contracts, and hybrid life-LTC structures for aging owners and retirees.
Section 7702B sets the federal rules that decide whether a long-term care policy delivers deductible premiums, tax-free benefits, and tax-free 1035 exchanges. This guide breaks down the 2026 age-indexed deduction limits, the $430 per-diem cap, hybrid life-LTC mechanics, and the planning patterns that move trapped cash value into care coverage without recognizing gain.
Section 162(l) lets sole proprietors, partners, and more-than-2% S-corp shareholders deduct health, dental, vision, LTC, and Medicare premiums above the line on Schedule 1, line 17 — bypassing the 7.5%-of-AGI floor that gates itemized medical deductions. Form 7206 enforces three limits — earned income, subsidized-coverage months, and PTC coordination — and S-corp owners must include premiums in W-2 Box 1 (not Box 3 or 5) to preserve the deduction.
Section 162(l) lets sole proprietors, partners, and more-than-2% S-corp shareholders deduct 100% of medical, dental, vision, and long-term care premiums above the line on Schedule 1, Line 17—if they clear the earned-income cap, the spouse-employer rule, and the W-2 reporting choreography on Form 7206.
How Applicable Large Employers file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C for the 2025 reporting year. Covers the March 2 and March 31, 2026 deadlines, the post-2024 furnishing-on-request rule, the 2026 penalty amounts ($3,340 and $5,010 per employee), the new 90-day Letter 226-J response window, and the Line 14/16 coding errors that most often trigger IRS audits.
COBRA's notice scheme runs on five deadlines — 90, 30, 14, 60, and 45 days. Miss any one and a group health plan can face a $100-per-day Section 4980B excise tax, up to $110-per-day ERISA penalties, and private lawsuits. A practical guide for plan sponsors and HR teams.
For plan years ending in 2025, self-insured plan sponsors and HRA employers must file Form 720 by July 31, 2026 and pay $3.84 per covered life ($3.47 for plan years ending before October 1, 2025). This guide covers who owes the fee, the three approved methods to calculate average covered lives, why HRAs count employees only, and the common Form 720 filing mistakes that trigger IRS notices.
Section 162(l) lets self-employed taxpayers deduct 100% of medical, dental, vision, Medicare, and long-term care premiums above the line via Form 7206.
