As a small busines owner you may have heard about the Small Employer Health Insurance Credit that is in effect through 2013.  Beginning in 2010, and continuing through 2013, employers that are eligible (small), can claim a 35% tax credit (25% for tax-exempt) for premiums it pays toward health coverage for their employees. Included in the health care reform signed by President Obama on March 23, the employer health insurance credit is meant to entice small business employers to offer first time health insurance or maintain their existing.

Basic Requirements for the Small Employer Health Care Credit

• Employer has fewer than 25 full time employee equivalents (FTEs)
• Employer is not a member of a controlled group with more than 25 FTEs
• Average annual wages for FTEs do not exceed $50,000
• Employer pays more than 50% of single coverage health insurance premium

For a little more information view this Health Care Tax Credit PDF Excerpt from the Health Care Reform.

Here are some more things we’ve learned concerning President Obama’s Health Care Reform that may affect your small business.

If you are in the 50 or more full time employee category, you have to offer company insurance. You don’t necessarily have to pay for it though.  The cost of the insurance to the employee cannot exceed 9.5% of the employee’s household income and the insurance must cover at least 60% of medical expenses to be qualifying insurance.   If you don’t offer qualifying insurance and an employee goes through a state exchange and receives tax credits to help with their payments, a penalty is assessed to the company of $2,000 per employee excluding the first 30 employees.  So if you had 50 employees the penalty would be $2,000 on 20 employees.

As with everything else you read, this is just a small part of a very big picture. Feel free to contact us to discuss this and other questions regarding tax and finance for your small business.