Was thinking about this yesterday - if you are self-employed and can deduct your entire cost of health insurance on your taxes, wouldn't you be better off paying the health insurance cost up front and taking the subsidy as a tax credit? Example:
Person A earns $60k/year and has a $10k/year health insurance expense. They qualify for subsidy of $9k/year and write off $1k/year on their taxes, reducing their 2015 income to $59k.
Person B earns $60k/year and has a $10k/year health insurance expense. They qualify for subsidy of $9k/year, but elect to take the subsidy as a credit on their tax return. They write off $10k in health insurance costs, reducing their income to $50k, qualifying them for an even larger subsidy the following year, and they still get a $9k tax credit.
Am I missing something here?
Person A earns $60k/year and has a $10k/year health insurance expense. They qualify for subsidy of $9k/year and write off $1k/year on their taxes, reducing their 2015 income to $59k.
Person B earns $60k/year and has a $10k/year health insurance expense. They qualify for subsidy of $9k/year, but elect to take the subsidy as a credit on their tax return. They write off $10k in health insurance costs, reducing their income to $50k, qualifying them for an even larger subsidy the following year, and they still get a $9k tax credit.
Am I missing something here?