14 — Employee Benefit Programs Updated for tax year 2025

What this line means

The cost of benefit programs you provide to your employees (not yourself). This includes your contributions to employee accident and health plans, group-term life insurance, dependent care assistance programs, and other fringe benefits. If you have no employees, this line is zero. Your own health insurance as a sole proprietor is deducted on Form 1040, not here.

Does this apply to you?

• You provide health insurance to employees and pay part or all of the premiums
• You offer group-term life insurance to employees
• You contribute to a dependent care assistance program for employees
• You provide other taxable or nontaxable fringe benefits to employees

Easy to overlook

Your own health insurance does not go here As a sole proprietor, your personal health insurance premiums are deductible — but on Schedule 1 of Form 1040 (line 17), not on Schedule C line 14. Putting your own premiums on line 14 reduces self-employment income and self-employment tax, which the IRS considers improper. It also does not affect your AGI the way the Schedule 1 deduction does. ¹ [SOURCE: General filing pattern — self-employed health insurance misplacement]

Benefits for your spouse-employee are deductible here If your spouse is a legitimate employee of your business — W-2, regular duties, reasonable pay — the cost of their health insurance is a deductible business expense on line 14. This is a significant planning opportunity because it lets you deduct family health insurance as a business expense rather than as the more limited self-employed health insurance deduction. ² [SOURCE: IRS Schedule C instructions — Line 14]

Watch out for this

Deducting your own health insurance premiums on Schedule C instead of Schedule 1 of Form 1040. The self-employed health insurance deduction reduces your income tax but does not reduce your self-employment tax. Placing it on Schedule C improperly reduces both, which the IRS flags.

Related lines on your return

• Schedule 1, Line 17 — Form 1040 — Where your own self-employed health insurance deduction goes
• Line 26 — Schedule C — Wages; employee salary costs go there, benefits go here
• Line 19 — Schedule C — Pension and profit-sharing plans; retirement contributions for employees