Web design income arrives in project-shaped lumps with quiet stretches between them. The marketplace wants one annual figure, decided before the year starts, and that is the awkward part of an otherwise simple situation.
The Gap Between Projects Is Not a Gap in Coverage
A month with no invoices is normal in this trade and is not a reason to drop a plan. Coverage runs on the plan year, and cancelling mid-year puts you outside open enrollment with no way back until the next one. Losing coverage because you stopped paying for it is not a qualifying life event.
The practical answer is to treat the premium as a fixed monthly cost funded from project deposits, not from whatever is left at month end.
Estimate From the Pipeline, Not Last Year
Retainer and maintenance clients are the predictable part. Count those first, annualised, then add a conservative figure for new project work. A designer with four maintenance retainers has a floor; one working purely project-to-project does not, and should plan on updating the estimate during the year.
Where $78,000 Lands
At $78,000 of net profit, a single filer is about 498% of the 2026 poverty guideline of $15,650. The premium tax credit ends at 400%, which is $62,600, so there is no credit at that income.
Two subtractions still come first. Self-employment tax is $78,000 × 0.9235 × 0.153, about $11,021, of which roughly $5,511 is deductible, and your premiums come off as well. For a designer in the sixties those two lines can be the difference between qualifying and not.
Household size moves it further: for a couple the line is $84,600, and for a family of four $128,600.
Remote Clients Do Not Change Where You Enrol
You enrol in the state where you actually live, regardless of where your clients are. Billing a company in another state, or several, does not give you access to that state's marketplace or change your plan options. Your home address decides the plan and the network.
Screen Work Has Its Own Claims Pattern
A plan cannot ask what you do — ACA coverage is guaranteed issue with no occupation questions. But the things designers actually claim on are worth checking against a plan before choosing on premium: vision coverage, and access to physiotherapy or ergonomic assessment for wrist, neck and back complaints. Vision for adults is not an essential health benefit, so it is usually a separate purchase.
The Deduction Applies With or Without a Credit
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 $78,000 with a $700 monthly premium that is $8,400 deducted, roughly $2,016 at a 24% marginal rate.
If your year depends on two or three projects landing, call (713) 575-9904 before you set a number.