Can my business pay for my transition?

[melissa42013]

A questions for any accountants/tax experts out there:

I have a small business and would like to be able to pay for transition expenses through the business. (laser hair removal, ffs, BA, ec.) Can I legitimately pay these expenses directly and call it part of our "health plan" or do I need to do something else like set up a health savings account or just pay myself first?

I don't really want to go to my accountant with this questions as I am only out to a few people and am in the process of a business reorg to make transition "less visible" for me.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
-M

[Julie1957]

Caveat - I am not an accountant or tax expert - talk to your accountant (you can be general so that you don't out yourself to them).

I owned my own company (an S-Corp) and in the by-laws we included that all employees were required to have health insurance and that the company self insured all costs not covered by the insurance.  My wife and I were the only employees so this really only applied to us.  This allowed us to deduct as a business expense (the company reimbursing us) anything that the insurance company didn't cover including co-pays and non-covered procedures (e.g. cosmetic surgery).  My accountant OK'd this and it wasn't questioned by the IRS.  Large companies often self insure and they can allow coverage to include whatever they think appropriate.  I see no reason why a small company couldn't do it too.

[JessicaH]

Sounds like a great health plan for the new business! Need any help?