Lighting contractors sit between electrical work and design, and increasingly between a client and a utility rebate programme. That last relationship is what makes cash flow in this trade unusual, and it is the part that catches people out on a monthly premium.
Rebate Paperwork Delays the Money, Not the Work
On a commercial retrofit, a meaningful share of the job value can come through a utility incentive that pays after inspection, verification and processing. The lamps are installed, the client is happy, and the money is somewhere in a utility's queue.
Your health premium is due monthly regardless. Coverage that lapses for non-payment cannot be restarted outside open enrollment without a qualifying life event, so a rebate delay must not be allowed to become a coverage gap. Fund the premium from progress payments, not from the rebate.
Where a Couple Lands at $69,000
At $69,000 of net profit with a spouse, the 2026 poverty guideline for a household of two is $21,150 and 400% of it is $84,600. That puts you around 326% — inside subsidy range, with the benchmark Silver contribution capped at 9.96% of income.
Subtract before comparing: self-employment tax is $69,000 × 0.9235 × 0.153, roughly $9,749, so about $4,875 comes off, plus your premiums.
Working as a Sub Does Not Make You an Employee
Taking direction on a specification from a general contractor or a lighting designer does not make you their employee. You carry your own licence, tools, van and risk of profit and loss on the job, which makes you an independent contractor — with no employer plan, no withholding, and self-employment tax due quarterly.
The GC's insurance covers the GC. It does nothing for your health.
Multi-Month Projects Straddle Tax Years
A retrofit that starts in October and completes in February puts income in two different years, split by when payments actually arrive rather than when the work was done. On a small number of large projects that genuinely changes which side of a subsidy threshold each year lands on.
If you know a project is going to straddle, reflect it in both years' estimates rather than assuming the whole job belongs to the year it was signed.
Ladders, Lifts and What to Compare
Most of the injury risk in this trade is height and electrical. An ACA plan cannot ask about either — coverage is guaranteed issue with no occupation questions — but the out-of-pocket maximum is the figure that describes a bad fall, and it is worth weighing against a lower premium before you choose.
The Deduction
With net self-employment profit and no employer plan available through a spouse, 100% of premiums come off on Schedule 1, Line 17, above the line, up to net self-employment income. At $69,000 with a $760 monthly premium that is $9,120 deducted.
If a rebate is holding up a large part of your year, call (713) 575-9904 before you change anything about your coverage.