Nov 2, 2011

Do You Have Employees With Disabilities? You May Qualify for Tax Benefits

[caption id="attachment_393" align="alignright" width="369" caption="Tax Benefits for Employees With Disabilities"]

[/caption] Did you know that the Internal Revenue Service has tax benefits available for employers who have employees with disabilities? Here’s a summary:

Renovation Tax Credits

For qualifying small businesses (those with 30 or fewer full-time employees and $1 million or less in earnings in the previous tax year), the Disabled Access Credit may be claimed if business owners spend money on “eligible access expenditures.” Check out the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission¹ website for details.

Work Opportunity Credit

According to the IRS, employers may also find their businesses eligible for tax benefits for hiring disabled employees through the Work Opportunity Credit.² The Work Opportunity Credit allows a business owner who employs a worker who falls under a specific category (such as having a disability) to benefit from a tax credit of up to 40 percent on the worker’s qualified wages from the first year.

Deduction for Architectural Barrier Removal

One more tax benefit for employers of disabled workers can be found in the Architectural Barrier Removal Tax Deduction found in the U.S. tax code.³ This deduction is available for employers who can prove that they have actively removed barriers in their workplaces that once restricted full access for disabled employees.

Other Opportunities

The IRS also offers disability-related documents and services.⁴ Braille tax forms and large-print tax forms are all available though the IRS; talking tax forms are also available for the hearing impaired. While each of these forms is available in a slightly different way, voice-recognition software, refreshable Braille displays, and screen-reading software all combine to make these services accessible to disabled workers. Not every tax document is available in each of these formats; however, the most popularly used forms are all accessible, provided users have the proper software. For more information, visit: 1. “Facts About Disability-Related Tax Provisions” 2. IRS: “Work Opportunity Credit” 3. “Expenditures to Remove Architectural and Transportation Barriers to the Handicapped and Elderly” 4. IRS: “Accessible IRS Tax Products” 5. IRS: “Tax Benefits for Businesses Who Have Employees With Disabilities” 6. Realeconomicimpact.org The Small Business Authority cannot and does not give legal or tax advice and nothing contained in this article should be construed as such. Before taking any actions based on this or any other article published by The Small Business Authority, we strongly advise you to consult with an attorney and/or your tax professional.