Section 701.52.17. Assistive device tax credit.

Effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2000, a taxpayer who is a small business that purchases, rents, or modifies an assistive device or makes workplace modifications for an individual with a disability who is employed or will be employed by the taxpayer may qualify for an assistive device tax credit, subject to the availability of the credit. The assistive device credit is equal to 50 percent of the first $5,000 paid during the tax year by the small business for the purchase, rental, or modification of an assistive device or for making workplace modifications. Any credit in excess of the tax liability may be refunded or applied to the taxpayer’s tax liability for the following tax year. If the taxpayer elects to take the assistive device tax credit, the taxpayer is not to deduct for Iowa income tax purposes any amount of the cost of the assistive device or workplace modification that is deductible for federal income tax purposes. A small business will not be eligible for the assistive device credit if the device is provided for an owner of the small business unless the owner is a bona fide employee of the small business.

         52.17(1) Submitting applications for the credit. A small business wanting to receive the assistive device tax credit must submit an application for the credit to the Iowa department of economic development and provide other information and documents requested by the Iowa department of economic development. If the taxpayer meets the criteria for qualification for the credit, the Iowa department of economic development will issue the taxpayer a certificate of entitlement for the credit. However, the aggregate amount of assistive device tax credits that may be granted by the Iowa department of economic development to all small businesses during a fiscal year cannot exceed $500,000. The certificate for entitlement of the assistive device credit is to include the taxpayer’s name, the taxpayer’s address, the taxpayer’s tax identification number, the estimated amount of the tax credit, the date on which the taxpayer’s application was approved and the date when it is anticipated that the assistive device project will be completed and a space on the application where the taxpayer is to enter the date that the assistive device project was completed. The certificate for entitlement will not be considered to be valid for purposes of claiming the assistive device credit on the taxpayer’s Iowa income tax return until the taxpayer has completed the assistive device project and has entered the completion date on the certificate of entitlement form. The tax year of the small business in which the assistive device project is completed is the tax year for which the assistive device credit may be claimed. For example, in a case where taxpayer A received a certificate of entitlement for an assistive device credit on September 15, 2000, and completed the assistive device workplace modification project on January 15, 2001, taxpayer A could claim the assistive device credit on taxpayer A’s 2001 Iowa return assuming that taxpayer A is filing returns on a calendar-year basis.

The department of revenue will not allow the assistive device credit on a taxpayer’s return if the certificate of entitlement or a legible copy of the certificate is not included with the taxpayer’s income tax return. If the taxpayer has been granted a certificate of entitlement and the taxpayer is an S corporation, where the income of the taxpayer is taxed to the individual owner(s) of the business entity, the taxpayer must provide a copy of the certificate to each of the shareholders with a statement showing how the credit is to be allocated among the individual owners of the S corporation. An individual owner is to include a copy of the certificate of entitlement and the statement of allocation of the assistive device credit with the individual’s state income tax return.

         52.17(2) Definitions. The following definitions are applicable to this subrule:

“Assistive device” means any item, piece of equipment, or product system which is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of an individual with a disability in the workplace or on the job. “Assistive device” does not mean any medical device, surgical device, or organ implanted or transplanted into or attached directly to an individual. “Assistive device” does not include any device for which a certificate of title is issued by the state department of transportation, but does include any item, piece of equipment, or product system otherwise meeting the definition of “assistive device” that is incorporated, attached, or included as a modification in or to such a device issued a certificate of title.

“Business entity” means partnership, limited liability company, S corporation, estate or trust, where the income of the business is taxed to the individual owners of the business, whether the individual owner is a partner, member, shareholder, or beneficiary.

“Disability” means the same as defined in Iowa Code section 15.102. Therefore, “disability” means, with respect to an individual, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of the individual, a record of physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of the individual, or being regarded as an individual with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of the individual. “Disability” does not include any of the following:

            1.      Homosexuality or bisexuality;

            2.      Transvestism, transsexualism, pedophilia, exhibitionism, voyeurism, gender identity disorders, or other sexual behavior disorders;

            3.      Compulsive gambling, kleptomania, or pyromania;

            4.      Psychoactive substance abuse disorders resulting from current illegal use of drugs;

            5.      Alcoholism.

“Employee” means an individual who is employed by the small business who meets the criteria in Treasury Regulation § 31.3401(c)-1(b), which is the definition of an employee for federal income tax withholding purposes. An individual who receives self-employment income from the small business is not to be considered to be an employee of the small business for purposes of this rule.

“Small business” means that the business either had gross receipts in the tax year before the current tax year of $3 million or less or employed not more than 14 full-time employees during the tax year prior to the current tax year.

“Workplace modifications” means physical alterations to the office, factory, or other work environment where the disabled employee is working or is to work.

         52.17(3) Allocation of credit to owners of a business entity. If the taxpayer that was entitled to an assistive device credit is a business entity, the business entity is to allocate the allowable credit to each of the individual owners of the entity on the basis of each owner’s pro rata share of the earnings of the entity to the total earnings of the entity. Therefore, if an S corporation has an assistive device credit for a tax year of $2,500 and one shareholder of the S corporation receives 25 percent of the earnings of the corporation, that shareholder would receive an assistive device credit for the tax year of $625 or 25 percent of the total assistive device credit of the S corporation.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 422.33.

[ARC 1744C, IAB 11/26/14, effective 12/31/14]