Brokers ask me whether they can offer health insurance to their agents. For almost every brokerage the answer is no, and it has nothing to do with money. It comes from how the tax code classifies licensed agents, and once that is clear the rest of the decision is simple.
Who the real estate brokerage can cover
Licensed real estate agents paid on commission under a written contract are “statutory nonemployees”: the tax code treats them as self-employed for every federal tax purpose. A QSEHRA or ICHRA only covers employees, so a brokerage cannot fund its agents’ coverage through one.
W-2 staff are different. Transaction coordinators, admin, property managers and marketing staff on payroll can be offered a QSEHRA, an ICHRA or a group plan. So can the assistants a team leader employs directly.
The broker-owner follows their own entity: self-employed deduction as a sole owner or partner, or the more-than-2% shareholder rule in an S corporation.
Three ways to pay for staff
Across the 23 states I work in, median pay for transaction coordinators and admin from $36,000 to $47,890, property managers from $46,320 to $103,790 and front-desk staff from $30,270 to $40,560 (BLS, May 2024). That spread decides which option works.
A QSEHRA reimburses employees tax-free for individual coverage they buy, up to $6,450 for self-only and $13,100 for family coverage in 2026. It is for employers with fewer than 50 full-time-equivalent employees that offer no group plan, it has to be offered on the same terms to every eligible employee, and a shareholder owning more than 2% of an S corporation cannot use it.
An ICHRA — HealthCare.gov now calls it a CHOICE Arrangement, though the IRS still uses the old name — has no cap and no size limit. You set amounts by class of employee (full-time, part-time, seasonal, salaried, hourly, location and a few others), and within a class the amount can rise with age, up to 3 to 1, and with family size. Employees must be enrolled in individual coverage to use it. An offer that leaves the lowest-cost Silver plan costing an employee more than 9.96% of household income in 2026 is unaffordable, and that employee can decline it and take a premium tax credit.
A small-group plan puts everyone on one policy and one network, with participation and contribution minimums set by the insurer. It is still the right answer when the team is older or someone needs a specific specialist network, and it is the only route to the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit, which runs through SHOP.
Agents and the 2026 subsidy rules
Your agents buy their own coverage, and 2026 made that riskier for anyone paid on commission. The subsidy stops completely above 400% of the poverty line — $62,600 for a single person and $128,600 for a family of four this year — and starting with 2026 taxes there is no cap on paying back a subsidy you turn out not to qualify for. An agent who estimates a slow year and then closes two big deals repays every dollar at tax time. Passing that on to your agents is one of the more useful things a broker can do this fall.
What works for different firms
- Independent brokerage, agents on 1099. No health benefit for agents through the brokerage. W-2 admin on a QSEHRA.
- Team leader with two W-2 assistants. The team can offer its assistants a QSEHRA directly; the lead agent buys their own.
- Property management arm with W-2 managers. An ICHRA or group plan for the management staff, separate from the agents.
What changed in 2026
Three things matter to anyone in a real estate brokerage. The enhanced premium tax credits ended, so subsidies stop again at 400% of the poverty line: $62,600 for one person and $128,600 for a family of four. Starting with the 2026 tax year there is no cap on paying back excess advance subsidy, which falls hardest on anyone whose income moves around. And bronze and catastrophic plans now count as HSA-eligible, so an owner on a bronze plan can put $4,400, or $8,750 for a family, into an HSA.
Real Estate Brokerages by state
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Wisconsin
Sources: HealthCare.gov, CHOICE Arrangements (formerly individual coverage HRAs); IRS Notice 2017-67, Qualified Small Employer HRAs; IRS Publication 15-B (2026), Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits; IRS, S corporation compensation and medical insurance issues; IRS, Instructions for Form 7206, Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction; IRS, One Big Beautiful Bill provisions; IRS Notice 2026-5, Expanded availability of health savings accounts; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024.
Questions owners ask
Can a real estate brokerage offer health insurance to its agents?
Not through a QSEHRA or ICHRA. Licensed agents paid on commission under a written contract are statutory nonemployees, treated as self-employed for federal tax purposes, and these arrangements only cover employees. Agents buy their own coverage and take the self-employed health insurance deduction.
Can a brokerage cover its W-2 staff?
Yes. Transaction coordinators, admin and property managers on payroll can be offered a QSEHRA, an ICHRA or a small-group plan.
Why does commission income matter for health insurance in 2026?
Subsidies end above 400% of the poverty line, and from the 2026 tax year there is no cap on repaying excess advance subsidy. An agent whose income comes in higher than estimated repays the full amount.