Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Campaign Launched to Promote Health Care Tax Credits
Maryland Lt. Governor Anthony Brown joined other state officials, representatives from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield and health care advocates yesterday to launch a new campaign to promote the income tax credit available to certain small businesses under the federal health care reform law.
“This tax credit can make a difference for many employers that must weigh whether they can provide health care coverage for their employees,” said Chet Burrell, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield President and CEO.
CareFirst has partnered with the Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative to fund the $150,000 campaign, which includes two radio advertisements and a text messaging service to allow small business owners to get information about the tax credits immediately over their phones. Listen to one of the radio ads here. You can text “HEALTH” to 877877 to get information about the credits.
Detailed information about the tax credits is available on the IRS’s website here. Here are some highlights from Maryland Chamber Vice President of Government Affairs Ron Wineholt:
- For tax years 2010 through 2013, a 35 percent income tax credit for employer health insurance costs for employers with 10 or fewer employees with an average wage of $25,000 or less. Lesser credits are provided for employers with 11 to 25 employees with an average wage of less than $50,000.
- For tax years after 2013, up to a 50 percent tax credit for an eligible small employer’s health insurance costs purchased through a Health Insurance Exchange. An employer could only claim this credit for 2 years.
- The maximum credits for small non-profit employers are 25 percent through 2013 and 35 percent after that date.
- No credit for sole proprietors.
For more information, contact Ron Wineholt at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
