Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: Line 17 of Schedule 1 is the self-employed health insurance deduction. It covers premiums you paid for health insurance for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents, if one of the instructions’ conditions about your work is true. The number comes from the Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction Worksheet in the Form 1040 instructions, or from Form 7206 in the cases the instructions name.
Picking the Schedule C business code for your work (2025 chart): Schedule C code for doctors and dentists.
S corporation return (Form 1120-S) for 2025, read line by line: Form 1120-S lines 7 to 12.
Partnership return (Form 1065) for 2025, read line by line: Form 1065 lines 9 and 10 and Form 1065 lines 19 to 23.
IRS worksheets from the 2025 Form 1040 instructions, read line by line: Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction Worksheet.
Schedule C and Schedule SE (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule C lines 14 and 15 and Schedule C lines 31 and 32.
What line 17 asks for
The schedule’s caption is “Self-employed health insurance deduction”. The instructions say “You may be able to deduct the amount you paid for health insurance (which includes medical, dental, and vision insurance and qualified long-term care insurance) for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents.” They also cover a grown child: “The insurance can also cover your child who was under age 27 at the end of 2025, even if the child wasn’t your dependent.”
Who can take it
The instructions say “One of the following statements must be true.” The first two are “You were self-employed and had a net profit for the year reported on Schedule C or F.” and “You were a partner with net earnings from” self-employment. A third covers people who used an optional method: “You used one of the optional methods to figure your net earnings from self-employment on Schedule SE.” A fourth covers shareholders: “You received wages in 2025 from an S corporation in which you were a more-than-2% shareholder.”
The instructions add a condition on the plan: “The insurance plan must be established under your business.” For an S corporation shareholder, “You can deduct the premiums only if the S corporation reports the premiums paid or reimbursed as wages in box 1 of your Form W-2 in 2025 and you also report the premium payments or reimbursements as wages on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 1a.” The business income behind these tests is reported on Schedule C.
Months you cannot count
Premiums for some months are left out. The instructions say “if you were also eligible to participate in any subsidized health plan maintained by your or your spouse’s employer for any month or part of a month in 2025, amounts paid for health insurance coverage for that month can’t be used to figure the deduction.”
Where the number comes from
The instructions say “If you qualify to take the deduction, use the Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction Worksheet to figure the amount you can deduct.” The worksheet is in the Form 1040 instructions, in the line 17 section, and this page does not copy its entries. The instructions also say when to use another form: “Use Form 7206 instead of the Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction Worksheet in these instructions to figure your deduction if any of the following applies.” The cases include “You file Form 2555.” and “You had more than one source of income subject to self-employment tax.” They also say to use Pub. 974 instead of the worksheet if the insurance plan was considered to be established under your business and was obtained through the Marketplace, and advance payments of the premium tax credit were made or you are claiming the premium tax credit.
Where it goes next
Line 17 is one of the adjustments that line 26 adds up: “Add lines 11 through 23 and 25. These are your adjustments to income.” The instructions say “The amount on line 26 is entered on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 10.” The previous lines are on the page for lines 15 and 16, and the schedule as a whole is on the Schedule 1 (Form 1040) page.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Schedule 1 and the 2025 Form 1040 instructions, the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-17. They are the forms for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. The schedule says “Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.” Schedule 1 has no separate booklet, because its line instructions sit inside the Form 1040 instructions. Check the tax year printed on the schedule you are filling in and use the line numbers on that year’s schedule, because a different year’s schedule can number or word its lines differently.
Common mistakes
- Counting a month when you could have joined an employer plan. The instructions say that for such a month, “amounts paid for health insurance coverage for that month can’t be used to figure the deduction.”
- Using the worksheet when Form 7206 is required. The instructions say “Use Form 7206 instead of the Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction Worksheet in these instructions to figure your deduction if any of the following applies.”
- Deducting S corporation premiums the corporation did not report as wages. The instructions say “You can deduct the premiums only if the S corporation reports the premiums paid or reimbursed as wages in box 1 of your Form W-2 in 2025”.
Related: Schedule C, Form 2555, self-employment tax, and Schedule 1 (Form 1040).
Sources
- Instructions for Form 1040 and Form 1040-SR (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf
- Schedule 1 (Form 1040), Additional Income and Adjustments to Income (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040s1.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 17, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.