The Disabled Access Credit: up to $5,000 back on accessibility costs
A federal tax credit has existed since 1990 to help small businesses pay for accessibility. Here's how it works, from the IRS form itself, and the one open question for websites.
Not tax advice. Check with your accountant before you claim anything.
Who qualifies
According to IRS Form 8826, an eligible small business is one that, in the previous tax year, had gross receipts of $1 million or less, or no more than 30 full-time employees, and that elects the credit by filing Form 8826.
How much it's worth
The credit is 50% of eligible access spending above a $250 minimum, and it can't be more than $5,000 in a year. It's part of the general business credit, so it reduces the tax you owe rather than being paid out to you.
What counts
The form lists costs to remove barriers that keep people with disabilities from using a business, to provide interpreters or other ways to make audio available to people who are deaf or hard of hearing, to provide readers or other ways to make visual materials available to people with visual impairments, and to buy or modify equipment. The costs must be reasonable and necessary.
The open question: websites
The IRS form doesn't mention websites by name. Website accessibility work, like adding image descriptions for blind visitors, fits the description of making visual materials available to people with visual impairments, and some accountants treat it that way. Others don't. Ask your tax professional whether your website costs, including what you pay us, qualify for your business.
Keep records either way
If you claim the credit, you'll want dated records of what you spent and what it fixed. Every Due Effort scan and kit is dated, which helps with that too.