You built the business, and now the health coverage is on you too. Whether you run a single-member LLC, took the S-corp election, or file as a sole proprietor, you buy your own coverage on the individual market — the same market open to every self-employed person. What changes with your structure isn't where you shop; it's how the premiums are handled at tax time. Here's how owners get covered, structure by structure, and why you're not stuck with whatever the marketplace shows you.
A business entity doesn't come with a benefits department. Forming an LLC or electing S-corp status changes how you're taxed and how you pay yourself, but it doesn't hand you a group health plan — for the owner's own coverage, you're still an individual buyer shopping the private under-65 and marketplace options like any self-employed person. What your structure does change is the tax treatment of the premiums, and that piece is different enough between a sole proprietor, a single-member LLC, and an S-corp that it's worth getting right. This guide walks through each one, plus why you have more than the marketplace to choose from and what it costs to get help (nothing).
This is the point that trips up a lot of owners: there is no special "LLC health plan" or "S-corp health plan" sold to businesses your size. For your own coverage, you're buying an individual policy — on the ACA marketplace or off-exchange directly from an insurer — the same as any other self-employed person. The entity on your paperwork doesn't unlock a separate menu. Where the structure genuinely matters is at tax time: whether the premium is a personal deduction, runs through payroll, or is handled some other way. Get the coverage decision and the tax decision in the right order, and the rest falls into place.
If you're a sole proprietor or a single-member LLC that hasn't elected corporate taxation, the IRS treats your business income on your personal return (a Schedule C for most owners), and there's no separate business entity paying for your coverage. You buy an individual plan in your own name, and eligible self-employed owners can generally take the self-employed health insurance deduction — an above-the-line federal deduction for health, dental, and qualifying long-term-care premiums, typically up to your net self-employment income, and not for any month you could have joined an employer or spouse's plan. It's one of the few write-offs you can take whether or not you itemize, which often lowers the true cost of coverage. The rules have real conditions, so confirm how they apply to you with your CPA — nothing here is tax advice.
S-corp owners have the most structure-specific wrinkle, and it surprises people. For a more-than-2% shareholder, health insurance premiums are generally handled through the business: the S-corp pays or reimburses the premium, that amount is added to your W-2 wages, and you then typically claim the self-employed health insurance deduction for it on your personal return. Done correctly, the premium usually isn't hit with Social Security and Medicare tax, but the reporting steps matter — miss them and you can lose the deduction. This is very much a "coordinate with your CPA and payroll" item; the coverage itself is still an individual plan I can help you compare, but how it flows through the S-corp is a tax-reporting question for your accountant. Nothing here is tax or legal advice.
If your LLC has more than one member and is taxed as a partnership, the health coverage of an owner is generally treated differently again — often paid by the partnership and reported as a guaranteed payment to the partner, who may then be able to take the self-employed health insurance deduction personally. Partners aren't employees for this purpose, so the "just put it on payroll" approach doesn't apply the way it might elsewhere. The theme repeats: the plan you buy is an individual one, but the path the premium takes through the business depends on how the entity is taxed, so loop in your CPA on the mechanics.
Plenty of owners assume "buy your own coverage" means the government exchange and nothing else. It doesn't. You generally have two doors, and the right one depends on your income and how you use care.
Which one wins comes down to your numbers, not a rule of thumb. Private vs. ACA, compared for the self-employed → and how subsidies work on variable owner income → both go deeper.
Subsidies are based on estimated annual household income and family size, not on whether you have an employer — so many owners qualify, including people who assume they earn too much. The catch is that owner income can be uneven and it's your taxable net that counts, not the top-line revenue that runs through the business. If you already think in quarterly-estimated-tax terms, you're most of the way there; building the estimate off last year's return is usually the most accurate starting point, then adjusting for how this year is trending.
Everything above is about the owner's own coverage. The moment you want to offer health benefits to employees, you're in a different conversation — small-group plans, contribution rules, and eligibility that work nothing like an individual policy. If that's where you're headed, start with the small business & group health coverage guide instead. Many owners do both over time: their own individual plan first, then a group plan once there's a team to cover.
You can navigate this alone, but an independent broker compares across many insurers at once and matches a plan to how you actually earn and use care — not just the lowest sticker price. It won't add a cent to your premium — brokers are paid by the insurers, not by you. I'm licensed in 31 states, so the same help travels with you if you move or expand where you do business. For the broader how-to and profession-specific guides, start with the self-employed & 1099 coverage guide. And because the coverage decision and the tax decision belong together, I'm glad to work alongside your CPA so the plan you choose lines up with how it's reported.
Start with the coverage cost estimator to map the landscape, then book a quick consultation when you want a real person to run your exact numbers. No pressure, no cost to talk.
Yes. An LLC owner buys individual coverage on the private under-65 or ACA marketplace, the same as any self-employed person. Forming an LLC doesn't create a special business health plan for the owner; what changes is how the premium is treated at tax time, not where you buy.
For a more-than-2% shareholder, premiums are generally handled through the business: the S-corp pays or reimburses the premium, that amount is added to the owner's W-2 wages, and the owner then typically claims the self-employed health insurance deduction personally. The reporting steps matter, so coordinate them with your CPA and payroll.
Often, yes. Eligible sole proprietors and single-member LLC owners can generally deduct qualifying premiums as an above-the-line federal deduction, up to net self-employment income and not for months an employer or spouse's plan was available. Confirm the specifics with your CPA.
No. The marketplace is one option, where income-based subsidies live. You can also buy an off-exchange private under-65 plan directly from an insurer, which can be the better value above the subsidy range. Private plans are typically medically underwritten, so approval isn't automatic.
It depends on your structure. A sole proprietor typically pays personally and deducts. An S-corp usually runs the premium through the business and onto the owner's W-2. A partnership often treats it as a guaranteed payment. The plan itself is still individual coverage; how it flows through the business is a tax-reporting question for your CPA.
That's a separate path from your own coverage. Offering benefits to a team means small-group plans with their own contribution and eligibility rules. Many owners start with their own individual plan, then add a group plan once there's a team. The small business and group coverage guide covers that side.
Fifteen minutes to talk through your business, your family, and how you use care — then a clear, honest set of options.