Health insurance for real estate agents who work on commission

• 14%of Realtors surveyed by NAR in 2023 said they had no health insurance
• 1%got their primary coverage through their real estate firm, versus 27 percent through a spouse's employer plan
• $58,100median gross income of a Realtor in 2024, per NAR, with a typical 10 transaction sides a year

Why your brokerage probably does not offer a plan

The IRS treats licensed real estate agents as statutory nonemployees when substantially all of their pay is tied to sales rather than hours, and they work under a written contract saying they will not be treated as employees for federal tax purposes. Those agents are self employed for all federal tax purposes. That is why so few brokerages offer group health coverage to agents. In the NAR survey, just 1 percent of members got their primary coverage through their real estate firm.

Where agents actually get coverage

The survey was answered by 1,227 members in March 2023, and its members skew older, which explains the Medicare share. For a working agent under 65 the practical choices are a spouse's plan, an ACA marketplace plan, or a plan bought off the exchange through a broker. If you have a spouse with a well subsidized job plan, start there. You may not need me at all.

Estimating commission income for a subsidy

HealthCare.gov asks self employed people for their best estimate of net income for the year they want coverage, based on past experience and realistic expectations. For an agent, I build it like this:

• Closed so far this year, your share after the brokerage split and fees.
• Plus pending deals under contract, counted at a realistic rate, because not every contract closes.
• Plus a conservative projection for the rest of the year, based on your last two or three years.
• Minus business expenses, such as MLS and association dues, marketing, licensing and mileage.

Commission income is lumpy, and timing matters. A closing that funds on January 3 counts toward the new year, not the old one. The rule to remember is that starting with 2026 coverage there is no cap on paying back excess tax credits at tax time. If a big quarter pushes you higher, update your marketplace application right away. For 2027 coverage, the credit stops completely above 400 percent of the poverty line, which is $63,840 for one person and $132,000 for a family of four. You can test numbers with my subsidy calculator.

Deducting your premiums

Because the IRS treats qualifying agents as self employed, you may be able to deduct your health insurance premiums on Schedule 1, using Form 7206 when the IRS requires it. The key limits from the Form 7206 instructions:

• The deduction cannot exceed your net earnings from the business.
• It is not allowed for any month you were eligible for a subsidized employer plan, including through a spouse's employer, even if you declined it.
• It lowers income tax but not self employment tax.
• If you received an advance premium tax credit, IRS Publication 974 explains how the deduction and the credit interact.

That spouse rule surprises a lot of agents. If your spouse's employer offers you a subsidized plan and you buy your own instead, you lose the deduction for those months.

Agents in Florida and Texas

Both states have a lot of agents and a lot of people without coverage. The Census Bureau's 2024 survey put the uninsured rate at 10.9 percent in Florida and 16.7 percent in Texas, against 8.2 percent nationally. A few things I see in the 2026 plan data for the 22 counties I track:

• Florida: marketplace PPO plans exist, but one carrier sells all of them. If keeping a wide network matters because you are all over town showing homes, know that going in. More in my Florida PPO guide.
• Texas: none of the 10 Texas counties I track has a marketplace PPO for 2026. Your choices there are HMO, EPO and POS plans, so check your doctors before you pick.
• Gold can cost less than silver. In 18 of the 22 counties, the cheapest gold plan was priced below the cheapest silver plan. That is silver loading, and it continues into 2027.
• A carrier is leaving. Cigna exits the ACA individual market in 11 states for 2027, including Florida and Texas. If you have a Cigna plan, read what to do when your carrier leaves.

County by county prices are on my health insurance by county page, including Hillsborough and Harris. State details are on the Florida and Texas broker pages.

Bottom line

Treat health insurance like any other business expense you plan for. Check a spouse's plan first. If you buy your own, estimate net commissions honestly, update after big closings, and keep the deduction rules in mind. I'm Carson Hornish, an independent broker in Tampa licensed in 31 states, and a lot of my clients are self employed. The comparison is free. Here is why a broker costs you nothing.

Common questions