An Open Letter from the SBA Administrator Karen Mills regarding the Affordable Care Act

Dear Small Business Owner,

For decades, access to affordable health insurance has been the number-one concern of small business owners. To help you address that concern and provide quality, affordable coverage for your employees, the new Affordable Care Act gives you a number of new tools and benefits.

The most immediate benefit you should know about is the tax credit to help you pay for up to 35 percent of your employee premiums starting this tax year. An estimated 4 million small businesses may qualify for these tax credits, totaling about $40 billion over the next 10 years. Go here to learn more about the tax credit, including new information that explains how this federal credit is in addition to state-level credits you might receive and how dental and vision coverage are also eligible for the federal credit.

The Affordable Care Act also included reporting requirements if you pay another business $600 or more starting with 2013 filings. Small business groups have voiced concerns about the possible burden this places on people like you. That’s why the IRS is already planning to exempt from this requirement your transactions that use credit and debit cards. Also, the IRS, SBA and others in the Administration are looking for additional ways to minimize burdens and avoid duplicative reporting. We welcome your comments and input as we move forward together to address implementation issues under the new law.

Over the last 16 months, this Administration has taken steps to provide tax relief that put more money in the hands of small business owners like you – including write-offs for new equipment, credits for hiring unemployed workers and capital gains exclusions for small business investors. We know that sensible tax relief like this will help you grow your business, create new jobs, and continue drive America’s economic recovery.

With warm regards,

Karen Mills

http://www.sba.gov/acaletter/