Web Accessibility = Tax Benefits?
[WEBINAR]
Everything You Need to Know About ADA Compliance Online.
Is Your Firm at Risk?
Web Accessibility = Tax Benefits?
Many businesses must meet the Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines that require certain businesses and organizations to be accessible to people with disabilities. ADA guidelines, or similar laws around the world, apply to your physical funeral home as well as your website. At your physical facility, this means accommodations like wheelchair ramps or railings for people with motor disabilities.
Your website isn't any different. And while you don’t need a wheelchair ramp on your website, you do need features like keyboard-only navigation for people who can’t use a mouse or the ability for people with visual impairments to increase text size. Website accessibility basically means people with disabilities must have the same access to the information you provide as people without disabilities. Businesses that don’t meet these standards can face hefty fines and legal trouble.
While accessibility updates do cost money, fortunately, there are options out there to make it easier to achieve greater website accessibility. An ADA-compliant website could qualify your small business for a generous IRS tax credit.
Let’s go over how this works.
What ADA Compliance Means
ADA-compliant websites contain crucial features for the disabled community. Without them, people with visual, hearing, cognitive, and motor disabilities can’t easily navigate your site or understand the content. Some of these features include enlarged text and spacing, text transcripts for videos, and avoiding content that could trigger seizures.
If you want to learn more about what ADA compliance, check out our blog, “What does being ADA compliant ACTUALLY mean?”
However, if you’ve already made accessibility accommodations to your website or physical business in the current tax year, you can apply for a tax credit to offset you costs.
Tax Deduction vs. Tax Credit
Note, tax credits aren’t the same as tax deductions. Tax deductions lower your taxable income. While tax credits are dollar amounts subtracted from your tax bill.
Along with the accessibility tax credit, there is also a tax deduction that applies to accessibility accommodations to your physical business. For the sake of time, we’ll just cover the tax credit that applies to web accessibility in this blog post.
Learn more about the tax deduction on this ADA webpage and Fact Sheet.
How to Apply for a Tax Credit
If you spend between $250 to $10,250 on web accessibility during the tax year, you could be eligible for a tax credit. The IRS offers a 50% disabled access credit on purchases between $250 to $10,250, which means you could receive up to a $5,000 tax credit.
To claim your credit, complete IRS Form 8826 – Disabled Access Credit ONLY if your funeral home meets these two requirements during the year you’re filing taxes for.
- Your small business employs 30 or fewer full-time staff members.
- Your gross receipts were under one million dollars (see Form 8826 for details).
Read the general instructions on the IRS form above for more eligibility details.
Everything You Need to Know About ADA Compliance Online.
Is Your Firm at Risk?
FREE WEBINAR!
June 8, 2022 @ 1:00pm ET
Sign up and attend live or get the recording to watch later.
How to Calculate Your Tax Credit Amount
Grab your calculators. Don’t worry, you don't need to be a tax expert to calculate your tax credit amount. It takes just a few quick and simple steps.
First, track down how much you spent on web accessibility. Remember, you must spend at least $250 to qualify, and the credit only applies to purchases up to $10,250.
Once you find your total, subtract $250 from it to get the amount that qualifies for the 50% tax credit. Then, divide that number by 2 to get your tax credit amount.
For example, let’s say you spent $8,000 on web accessibility. Subtract $250 from that to get $7,750. Then, divide $7,750 by 2 to get $3,875 as your tax credit amount.
Research Potential State-Level Web Accessibility Tax Credits
This IRS form applies only to federal taxes. Depending on which state your funeral home resides in, you may also qualify for state-level web accessibility tax credits.
We recommend researching what your state offers for web accessibility tax credits. Make sure you refer to reputable resources, such as your state’s Department of Revenue website. You can find a quick link to it on this IRS webpage. You also should consult with your tax professional to confirm what you find and learn what they know about state-level web accessibility tax credits.
Achieve Web Accessibility with UserWay
Website accessibility can be achieved in several ways. For instance, it can be built into your site from the code up or layered over your site using special software. Tribute Technology partners with UserWay, a top accessibility company, to offer Tribute Accessibility. Tribute Technology delivers this innovative product through its network of Premier Partners including leading providers such as FrontRunner Professional, MKJ Marketing, SRS Computing, Funeral Tech, CFS, and others.
You just need UserWay’s widget on your website to qualify for this tax credit. To learn more, visit our ADA webpage. UserWay offers a special partner rate for customers of all of our Premier Partners.
Friendly reminder that this blog post serves an educational purpose only and should not be relied on for tax, legal or accounting advice. Please reach out to your tax professional for the most up-to-date information and for recommendations regarding your business and transactions.
