Usually this is like asking how to shoot yourself in the foot, but it may not be in my case. Scenario:
* First year of FIRE after working a partial year.
* MAGI (after earned income + IRA contributions + 401k + HSA) is on track to be significantly under 4x federal poverty level. (The Obamacare "subsidy cliff.") HOWEVER:
* Unless we do something clever, dividends will likely push us over, sacrificing about $750/mo in premium subsidies.
If there's some bit of alchemy I can perform to turn those dividends into self-employment income, then I'll be able to deduct them out of my MAGI on what is now line 29 on form 1040, keeping us decidedly under the limit. Since ~$5,000 in subsidies are at risk, being taxed suboptimally can prove worthwhile.
I know personal taxes pretty well, but business/self-employment stuff is pretty alien to me. Is there any way to do this thing? If so, what's the cheapest way to do it?