Small Business Health Care Tax Credit

The IRS recently released a special edition tax tip of interest to small business owners who may be struggling to continue health care coverage for their employees. A special tax credit is available to employers that pay at least half of the premiums for employee health insurance coverage under a qualifying arrangement. To qualify for the credit, the employer must have 25 or fewer workers with average income of $50,000 or less. The maximum credit for eligible small business employers is 35 percent of premiums paid. The credit may be claimed using Form 8941.

Even though many standard filing deadlines have passed for 2010 taxes, the IRS points out that the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit may still be available subject to the following deadlines:

  • businesses affected by certain natural disasters (deadline is October 31)
  • business entities such as sole props, partnerships, and S-corp shareholders who report their income on Form 1040 and who requested an extension (deadline is October 17)
  • tax-exempt organizations that file on a calendar year basis and requested an extension (deadline is November 15)
  • business that have already filed can still go back and claim the credit by filing an amended return