Many small businesses and tax-exempt organizations that provide health insurance coverage to their employees now qualify for a special tax credit. Included in the health care reform legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, approved by Congress and signed by President Obama on March 23, the credit is designed to encourage small employers to offer health care coverage for the first time or maintain the coverage they have.
Per the IRS website, a qualifying employer must cover at least 50 percent of the cost of health care coverage for some of its workers based on the single rate. A qualifying employer must have less than the equivalent of 25 full-time workers (for example, an employer with fewer than 50 half-time workers may be eligible). A qualifying employer must pay average annual wages below $50,000.
To learn more about the credit, go directly to www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=223666,00.html.