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Tax Credits to Accommodate the Deaf

by

Happ Lamm

Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination by “public accommodations” on the basis of disability.

Public accommodations include medical offices, public parks, colleges, hospitals, clinics, hotels, dining establishments, theaters, and day care centers.

Section 44 of the Internal Revenue Code allows tax credits for qualified small businesses making access improvements for the deaf.

According to the ADA and IRS, access improvements include the provision of sign language interpreters.

When the ADA was created, adaptive equipment included little more than archaic TTY phones or a pencil and paper. I am assuming you could now incorporate a videophone and a connection to an interpreter via Video Relay Interpreting (VRI), in addition to an on-site community interpreter if needed.

The ADA does not require a sign language interpreter in all situations. The purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act is to level the playing field and make public accommodations accessible to the disabled.

Exception:

A public accommodation is not required to give a service or auxiliary aid that fundamentally changes the nature of the goods and services supplied or which results in an undue burden.

“Undue burden” is defined as “significant difficulty or expense”. Aspects to evaluate are found in the Title III Technical Assistance Manual.

A deaf individual taking a look at homes with a real estate agent might not need an interpreter at the initial stages. After a determination to buy a particular home has been made, it’s hard to imagine a deaf purchaser who would not need a sign language interpreter to assist in price negotiations, an offer to buy, a final agreement, or at the closing.

In medical situations, doctors can use written notes for minor instructions, but almost all hospital situations will require the need of a sign language interpreter. Asking a family member to interpret when a qualified interpreter should be engaged can put the patient at risk or the hospital at legal peril.

To find out the existing satisfactory expenses, it is always a sound idea to seek advice from your accountant or other tax specialists.

Included Small Businesses:

1. 30 or less full-time workers

or

2. under $1,000,000 in annual revenues

Tax credit can be utilized for:

1. providing on-site community sign language interpreters

2. providing auxiliary equipment

Amount of the Tax Credit:

– 50% of the eligible access expenses

– no credit for the initial $250 of expenditures

– top limit of expenditures of $10,250

– formula yields a maximum credit for the tax year of $5,000

Annual Incentives:

Tax credits are calculated on an annual basis. Expenses over the annual tax credit limit cannot be carried over to the next year.

Conclusions:

Notwithstanding IRS tax credits, compliance with the ADA is an unfunded mandate from the government. Supplementary costs of compliance may not be passed on to individual clients, patients, or customers.

Utilizing tax credits can cut yearly expenses for helping deaf patients, clients, and customers by up to 50%, and help pay for valuable equipment to make your business more accessible to the deaf or hard-of-hearing for years to come.

More importantly, knowing that you can recover up to half of your expenditures may make you more open to to hiring a sign language interpreter or setting up VRI rather than relying on less effective means of communication and risking errors.

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tags: sign language interpreters,tax credits,adaptive equipment,small business,ADA,IRS,ASL

===Charles Lamm is a retired attorney now serving as a legal/technical consultant for Accessible Communication for the Deaf

(ACD)

in Sunrise, Florida. His umbrella blog can be found at

chazl.com

.

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Tax Credits to Accommodate the Deaf