EVENT DESCRIPTION
A credit reduces tax dollar for dollar; a deduction only reduces the base. Of roughly 30 business tax credits in the Code, a small business will typically qualify for fewer than ten — and most practitioners never claim several of them because the credits are unfamiliar, the forms are obscure, or the eligibility math looks harder than it is.
A credit reduces tax dollar for dollar; a deduction only reduces the base. Of roughly 30 business credits in the Code, a small business typically qualifies for fewer than ten — and several go unclaimed simply because the forms are obscure and the eligibility math looks harder than it is.
This two-hour course walks through the credits most likely to apply to small business clients, with OBBB's changes flagged throughout: the FICA tip credit, the differential wage payment credit, the paid family and medical leave credit and its new premium option, the small employer health insurance credit, the disabled access credit, the expiring work opportunity credit, the substantially expanded childcare credit, and the SECURE 2.0 pension start-up credit. State cybersecurity incentives, including Maryland's, receive separate treatment, along with credit ordering on Form 3800 and record retention standards. The course closes with § 174A research expensing, the § 163(j) ATI add-backs, and the now-permanent § 199A deduction.
EVENT OBJECTIVE
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
• Distinguish the tax effect of a credit from a deduction, and identify which business credits carry forward.
• Calculate the employer Social Security and Medicare credit on tip income using the $5.15 computational rate.
• Determine the differential wage payment credit and the substantiation required.
• Recognize OBBB's changes to the paid family and medical leave credit, including the premium-based option.
• Identify the eligibility conditions for the small employer health insurance credit, including the FTE limit and SHOP requirement.
• Apply the expanded employer-provided childcare credit rates and caps for 2026.
• Determine the pension plan start-up credit under SECURE 2.0, including the employer contribution credit.
• Recognize OBBB's treatment of domestic and foreign research expenditures under § 174A.
• Identify the correct form for each credit and apply the Form 3800 ordering rules.
