Friday, February 11, 2011

Tax Credits for Compliance with ADA



You need to modify your doorway and build a ramp to make your business accessible. Money is tight. How can you afford it?

You found the perfect employee, only you need to buy expensive software to accommodate his disability so that he can do the job. You're not sure that the expense is in the budget.

You run a tour company and you periodically have customers who are deaf and require an interpreter. The cost is not included in the ticket price.

You need to buy an accessible examination table for your medical office. It will cost you a lot more than a regular exam table. You're already dealing with reimbursement problems. How are you going to manage this as well?

Did you know that the government will help you? That's right. There is a 50% tax credit for barrier removal when you're making your business more accessible to persons with disabilities. Here's how it works:

If you have a small business with a total of $1 million or less in the previous tax year or 30 or fewer employees, this credit can cover 50% of the eligible expenses up to $10,250 per year, for maximum tax credit of $5000 per year. If you have additional expenses, there is a tax deduction of $15,000 per year available to all businesses for barrier removal.

There are additional benefits, of course, to making your business accessible. Not the least of these is simply an increase in business. Businesses that are accessible, especially those that use persons with disabilities in their advertising, are viewed by all potential customers as friendlier. So, the increase in business is not just the increase due to the number of people you can serve who have disabilities. The increase includes families, friends and the average customer on the street that sees you being more inclusive.

The form is a simple one as you can see by the one attached here. So, let Uncle Sam help you comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Everybody will win.

Annette Bourbonniere
401-846-1960
Fax:  401-846-1944
Twitter:  @AccessInclude


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