IRS Tax Credit to Write Off Web Accessibility Expenses

Making your website accessible protects your business from ADA lawsuits and opens your services to more customers. It also comes with a federal tax break that many small business owners never claim.

The Disabled Access Credit, created under Section 44 of the Internal Revenue Code, lets eligible small businesses recover up to $5,000 a year in ADA compliance costs. Because website accessibility is an ongoing expense, you can claim the credit in every year you pay for qualifying work.

Businesses quickly became aware of relief programs provided by the U.S. government. While these programs are temporary, there is a lesser-known tax credit available to business owners that could help them to provide an accessible website. 

In an effort to encourage compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and help provide relief to businesses who encounter web accessibility expenses, the Disabled Access Credit provides up to a $5000 tax credit for expenses related to web accessibility. 

What Is the IRS Disabled Access Credit?

The Disabled Access Credit is a federal tax credit for small businesses that spend money to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It covers 50% of eligible access expenditures above $250 and up to $10,250 in a tax year.

Because it is a credit and not a deduction, it reduces your tax bill dollar for dollar. The credit is non-refundable, but unused amounts can be carried forward to future tax years as part of the general business credit.

Does Your Business Qualify?

Your business is an eligible small business if, in the previous tax year, it met either of these conditions:

• Gross receipts of $1 million or less
• No more than 30 full-time employees

Under Section 44, a full-time employee is someone who works at least 30 hours per week for 20 or more weeks during the year. You only need to meet one condition, not both.

Which Web Accessibility Expenses May Qualify?

Eligible access expenditures are amounts paid to comply with ADA requirements. These include costs for making visually and aurally delivered materials available to people with disabilities. For many small businesses, this can cover:

• Website accessibility audits and manual testing
• Accessibility repairs to code, forms, navigation, and color contrast
• PDF and document remediation
• Captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions for video content
• Accessibility consulting and staff training

The IRS has not issued guidance that names websites specifically. Keep detailed invoices that label each expense as ADA accessibility work, and confirm with your tax advisor which costs qualify for your business.

Claiming Disability Tax Credit

In order to qualify for the disabled tax credit, your business must be classified as a small business. According to the IRS, eligible small businesses earned $1 million or less or had no more than 30 full-time employees during the previous year. The credit is non-refundable and used to cover expenditures incurred for the purpose of providing access to persons with disabilities. 

Since ensuring web accessibility requires an ongoing effort, your businesses may take advantage of the Disabled Access Tax Credit every year that you incur expenses for access. This is highly beneficial especially for businesses that follow the recommendation to perform a website accessibility audit annually.

Annual accessibility audits will ensure that your website and other digital products–such as PDF documents–remain accessible and compliant with federal ADA guidelines as well as state guidelines such as California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. When standards update, your website must update also. This includes updating your accessibility statement to reflect the latest standards that your business strives to comply with. 

How Much Will the Disabled Access Credit Provide?

The credit equals 50% of eligible expenses between $250 and $10,250. The first $250 earns no credit, and any spending above $10,250 doesn’t increase it. That puts the maximum credit at $5,000 per year.

Example:

Example with maximum credit applied:

What Changed for 2025 and 2026?

Nothing has changed in the credit itself. The $250 floor, $10,250 ceiling, and $5,000 maximum have stayed the same since Section 44 was created in 1990, and they are not adjusted for inflation. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed in 2025, did not change Section 44 or the related Section 190 deduction.

Congress has introduced several bills to expand the credit. One proposal would double the maximum credit to $10,125 and raise the gross receipts limit to $2.5 million. None of these bills has become law, so the current limits still apply for 2025 and 2026 tax returns.

Disabled Access Credit vs. Section 190 Deduction

The Section 190 deduction lets businesses of any size deduct up to $15,000 a year for removing physical and transportation barriers, such as building ramps or widening doors. It applies to physical spaces, so most website expenses won’t qualify for it.

You can’t claim both a credit and a deduction for the same dollars. If your business also makes physical accessibility upgrades, ask your accountant how to divide those costs between the two incentives.

How to Claim the Disabled Tax Credit for My Business

As with other tax credits, claiming the Disabled Tax Credit is as simple as completing IRS Tax Form 8826. For assistance with completing the form, we encourage you to reach out to your accountant or tax expert. There may also be state tax credits available for web accessibility expenses so be sure to ask your tax advisor about state-wide incentives.

Note that while Be Accessible is an accessible expert, we do not claim to be tax or legal experts. This information provided in this article is intended to be informative and does not replace the advice of an accountant, tax advisor, or legal expert