Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination by “public accommodations” on the basis of disability.
Public places include, but are not limited to, doctor’s offices, parks, schools, hospitals, clinics, hotels, restaurants, theaters, and day care centers.
Under Section 44 of the Internal Revenue Code, tax credits are available to small businesses to help cover the cost of making access improvements for people with disabilities, including the deaf.
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 pen and paper. I guess now it could include a videophone and access to an interpreter through Video Relay Interpreting (VRI), as well as a community interpreter on site if needed.
Compliance does not always require a sign language interpreter. The purpose of the ADA is to level the playing field and make public accommodations accessible to people with disabilities.
Exception:
A public establishment is not required to provide an auxiliary service or aid that fundamentally alters the nature of the goods and services provided or results in undue burden.
“Undue burden” is defined as “significant difficulty or expense.” Factors to consider are found in the Title III Technical Assistance Manual.
For example, a car dealership may have brochures to cover the initial part of the buying process, but may have to bring an interpreter to handle the complicated parts of price negotiation and the contract.
In medical situations, doctors may use written notes for minor instructions, but almost all hospital situations will require the need for a sign language interpreter. Due to emotional or privacy concerns, it is often not appropriate to ask a family member who knows sign language to interpret.
To find out current acceptable expenses, it’s always a good idea to consult your accountant or other tax professionals.
Definition of small business:
1. 30 or fewer full-time employees
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2. Less than $1,000,000 in annual revenue
Credit can be used for:
1. provision of sign language interpreters
2. supply of adaptive equipment
Tax Credit Amount:
– 50% of the eligible access costs
– no credit for the first $250 of expenses
– maximum expenses of $10,250
– the formula produces a maximum credit for the tax year of $5,000
Annual Incentives:
The tax credit can be used annually. You cannot carry over expenses from one year to the next and claim a credit for the portion of expenses that exceeded the prior year’s limit.
Conclusion:
Despite IRS tax credits, ADA compliance is an unfunded mandate of the government. Compliance can result in additional costs and expenses for your business, but the ADA prohibits a public facility from passing those costs on to the patient or client.
Using tax credits can reduce annual expenses for housing deaf patients and clients by up to 50% and help pay for valuable equipment to make your business more accessible to the deaf for years to come.
More importantly, knowing that you can recover up to half of your expenses may make you more willing to hire a sign language interpreter to set up VRI rather than rely on less effective means of communication and risk making mistakes.
