Why Insurance can be better for founders

We’re all used to asking our employers about our benefits package as part of our total compensation. But what happens when you switch roles and become the employer? It’s a whole new complicated world to navigate. Many founders and business owners feel overwhelmed by these decisions, so we’re going to simplify it a bit here. We believe that you can enjoy better benefits with the price, coverage, and flexibility that meets your needs. Read on to find out how.

A Smart Tax Strategy is way better than a W-2 job’s options

As a W-2 employee, you have very limited options to optimize your tax strategy. For example, when it comes to a federal marketplace health insurance application, it asks for your income. When you’re an employee, that income number is just your gross pay. It’s simple but boring. The US tax code is written in favor of business owners.

When we fill out your federal marketplace application, we put your income after business expenses. I’m not a CPA, but I’ve worked with many of them. Any CPA worth their salt will work with you to write off expenses through your business. This can include tons of things such as work-related miles you drive, business meals, etc. This lowers the number we put down on your application, which can increase your eligibility for subsidies through the marketplace.

Keep in mind that this is how the system is engineered. We’re not teaching anything unethical or uncommon here. We find many founders put their gross pay down on these applications and simply overpay from what they should. When you file your federal income taxes, your subsidies will balance out. This means if you stated an income but made less, then the government will give you more money back in subsidies. If you made more than you stated, then they’ll ask for some of those subsidies back. This is why we keep in touch with you and your tax advisors to keep this number as accurate as possible.

Need a tax expert? We recommend working with TaxHive. Their process scales with your business. They take time for tax strategy, which many CPAs skip and just act as glorified tax preparers.

You have total flexibility

When you sign up for company benefits, it’s their way or the highway. They have one offering to choose from. Usually there’s one provider with their healthcare network, and you can choose between bronze, silver, and gold. Then you have a variety of add-ons like dental, vision, accident, etc. If it works for you then it’s fine to have. But for many of us, it feels like we’re a round peg being forced into a square hole.

Once you learn to navigate benefits on your own, you’ll never turn back. As a business owner, you have total flexibility. You can pick the healthcare network you love. You can update your plans regularly based on your special enrollment periods or changes in income (anticipated income often changes as a business owner). You can shop any policy out there as long as you aren’t working with a captive broker. We’re not captive, so we will shop from everything available in the USA to find the solutions that are best for you.

We’ll be the first to admit that America’s healthcare system is confusing and messy. It’s not our mission to rewrite the laws and petition congress to make it simpler. Our goal is to help you, wherever you’re at. Most of the industry is run by cold calling salespeople. We try to be the opposite and give you a personalized holistic approach to your personal and business needs. By optimizing your tax, legal, and insurance strategy, we believe your health insurance and other benefits can be better than it was at your corporate job.