33 checkpointsTax Credits
Disabled Access Tax Credit Checklist
How US small businesses claim the Disabled Access Credit on accessibility spending: the eligibility test, what counts, the 50% arithmetic up to $5,000, and Form 8826.
If your small business paid for web accessibility work this year, part of that cost may come back to you as a federal tax credit. The Disabled Access Credit — Section 44 of the Internal Revenue Code, claimed on IRS Form 8826 — was written to help small businesses cover the cost of complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and it is worth up to $5,000 a year.
This applies to businesses in the United States only. There is no EU or UK equivalent to claim under, so if you are outside the US this checklist will not help you.
This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Eligibility depends on your business and your expenses, and nothing here is tax or legal advice. Confirm every figure below against the current Form 8826 instructions with a licensed CPA or tax professional before you file. Inclusify does not provide tax advice and cannot tell you whether your claim will be accepted.
Here's what you'll find inside:
- The eligible small business test, and which of the two ways you can pass it
- Which of your access expenditures can be counted, and which cannot
- The credit arithmetic, worked at five spending levels
- How Form 8826 reaches your return, via Form 3800
- The records to keep in case anyone asks
- Where accessibility spending such as Inclusify sits in all of this
What is inside
- Check you are an eligible small business5
- Identify the spend you can count6
- Work out the credit5
- File it6
- Keep the records6
- Where accessibility spending such as Inclusify fits5
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Frequently asked questions
Possibly. US businesses with gross receipts under $1 million or fewer than 30 full-time employees may be eligible for the Disabled Access Credit under Section 44 of the IRS code (Form 8826), which covers 50% of eligible access expenditures over $250, up to a $5,000 credit. Eligibility depends on your business and your expenses, and nothing here is tax or legal advice - check with your accountant.
No. The Disabled Access Credit is a US federal tax credit and there is no EU or UK equivalent to claim under. If your business is not a US taxpayer, this checklist does not apply to you.
The credit is 50% of eligible access expenditures that exceed $250 but do not exceed $10,250 - so a maximum of $5,000 in any one year. It is non-refundable, meaning it can reduce your federal tax liability to zero but will not pay out beyond the tax you owe. You can claim it in every year you incur qualifying expenditures.
That is a question for your accountant, and we will not answer it for you. Whether a given piece of digital accessibility spending maps onto the statutory categories in Section 44 depends on your facts. The checklist tells you what to put in front of your accountant and what to ask them; it does not tell you the answer.
Form 8826, Disabled Access Credit, for the credit itself, and Form 3800, General Business Credit, which is how Form 8826 reaches your return. Always download the current year's versions and instructions from IRS.gov rather than working from an older copy.
Yes. We email you the download link so you have it on file, and so we can tell you if the guide is updated. You can unsubscribe at any time and we do not share your address.
