Health Care Reform & Your Small Business – Some Important Changes in the Small Business Tax Credit!

How will the new ACA – Affordable Care Act – affect your small business and your taxes in 2014? Well, one of the changes is that – for the last three years – small businesses with fewer than 25 employees were given a tax credit of up to 25% of the plan’s total cost if they offered their employees health care coverage. As of January 1, 2014, the small business tax credit will be expanded by as much as 50% of health care expenses! There are some requirements that need to be met in order to get this credit, though, so make sure you have the right information. The 50% health care tax credit is only available to employers who purchase their health care plans through the new small business exchange that the government runs. You should know that – if you use the same coverage you had last year – you don’t get the tax credit. Plus, only businesses with 10 or fewer employees will receive the full credit of 50%. If your company has 11 to 25 employees, the credit will be reduced by some amount. Make sure that you do your homework on this; the new rules are confusing, and the insurance offerings of the small business exchange need to be thoroughly vetted to make sure that you’re making the right decisions for your business – and your employees!