Self-employed people

Reporting self-employment income to the Marketplace

When you fill out a Health Insurance Marketplace^® application, you’ll have to estimate your net self-employment income. Marketplace savings are based on your estimated net income for the year you’re getting coverage, not last year’s income.

Estimating unpredictable income

When you’re self-employed, it can be hard to estimate your income for the coming months or year.

Do your best to estimate your self-employment income and expenses for the year accurately, based on your past experience, realistic expectations, industry standards, and other information.
During the year, if it looks like your yearly net income will be higher or lower than you estimated, update your Marketplace application as soon as possible.

IMPORTANT Update your estimated annual net income when your business circumstances change. If you wind up making more than you reported on your Marketplace application, you could have to pay back some or all of the premium tax credits you took during the year. If you wind up making less, you could qualify for more savings than you claimed during the year. Learn how to update your income when it changes.

Filling out your Marketplace application

On your Marketplace application, you’ll report your net income from your self-employment. (Net income is sometimes called "profit.")

If your self-employment income is higher than your business expenses, you report this net income.
If your business expenses are higher than your income, you report a net loss.

Your net income from self-employment is what you report on Schedule C of your federal tax return. Learn about self-employment income from the IRS (PDF).

If you’re asked to confirm self-employment income on your application

You may be asked to confirm information you put on your Marketplace application, or to provide additional information. You can usually resolve this issue by uploading documents.

If you’re self-employed, you may be asked to upload a “” to confirm your income. There isn’t a standard self-employment ledger format. It just needs to provide an accurate, detailed record of your self-employment income and expenses.

Other income to report

When you apply for Marketplace coverage, you must report income from everyone in your household, including those who don’t need coverage. Learn who to count in your household and how to report other kinds of income.
You’ll follow general Marketplace rules for reporting all income. Learn how to report all income sources to the Marketplace.
When you fill out your application and select “self-employment,” you’ll describe the kind of work you do. There’s no special format – just describe the work. If you clean houses, enter “house cleaning.” If you make jewelry, enter “jewelry making.” If you work on construction projects, enter “construction.” For more information, visit "Instructions for Schedule C" from the IRS or IRS Publication 334 (PDF).