ADA tax credit (Form 8826) and website work
Can I claim the disabled-access tax credit for website work?
Written by Even Entry, Last reviewed , About 4 minutes to read
The access credit, worked out
One year of Engage
- What you paid us each month
- $795 × 12
- Take off the first $250
- −$250
- Your credit: half of what's left
- $4,645
Your preparer advises on whether you qualify and what counts. You decide.
In short
Maybe: the IRS hasn’t said either way whether website work counts for the disabled access credit. Ask your tax preparer two things: whether your business is eligible, and whether the work counts. Your preparer advises, and you decide what to claim. Keep invoices that say what the work was for and what it fixed, in case the IRS asks.
Does website work count?
It’s a fair question. The law behind the credit covers what you spend removing barriers, the ones that keep people with disabilities from using a business. It names four kinds: “architectural, communication, physical, or transportation barriers.” And the cost has to be reasonable. The law also covers ways to get what’s written or shown to people who can’t see well, like someone reading it aloud or a recording. Does a website count as communication?
The IRS adds one thing: the spending has to help your business comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
We read what the IRS publishes on this credit, as of August 2026. None of it mentions websites, and neither does the law. We found no regulation that does either.
The Justice Department says the ADA applies to what businesses open to the public offer on the web. That guidance, from March 2022, says it isn’t legally binding, and it doesn’t mention the tax credit.
So ask your preparer. They’ll want a record of what the work fixed.
Is my business eligible?
Form 8826’s instructions give two tests. Passing either one is enough. You pass if your business took in $1 million or less last tax year (its gross receipts). Or if it had 30 full-time employees or fewer. Your preparer handles the fine print, like what full-time means and when related businesses count as one.
Two ways to qualify, and one is enough
$1 million or less in sales last tax year,
or,
30 or fewer full-time employees,
What could the credit be worth?
Form 8826 works it out in four steps:
- Add up what you spent on access that year.
- Take off $250.
- Count up to $10,000 of what’s left.
- The credit is half of that.
So the most it can be is $5,000 a year. You can claim it again in any year you spend on access.
Say you’re on Engage at $795 a month for a year. If your business is eligible and everything you paid counts, the credit could come to $4,645.
What the credit could be worth
- −$250, your first $250 doesn't count
- $10,000, up to this much counts
- ½, your credit is half that
- $5,000, the most in any year
Is it money back?
Not as a check. It lowers the income tax you owe. The IRS calls that nonrefundable.
It’s part of the general business credit. If your business is a partnership or an S corporation, the credit passes to its owners.
There’s one way it can mean money back. If you can’t use it all this year, you can usually carry it back one year, or forward up to 20 years. Carrying it back can bring a refund of tax you’ve already paid.
One more thing. You can’t count the same dollars twice. Form 8826’s instructions say if you take the credit, you can’t also deduct the spending you counted, up to what the credit’s worth. And you can’t use those same dollars for another credit. Your preparer works out which dollars go where.
What will my preparer need?
Your preparer reports the credit on Form 3800, with your return. The IRS can ask you to show your spending qualifies. So your preparer will want:
- Invoices that say what the work was for
- A record of what it fixed, and when
- The arithmetic, worked out
Whoever did your accessibility work, ask them for those.
How we help
Each January we send your preparer a file with what you paid us the year before and what it fixed. It’s laid out for this credit. That’s on every plan. We list only our own invoices, not your developer’s or your lawyer’s. If you don’t pay US tax, there’s nothing for us to send. Whether you qualify and what counts: your preparer advises, and you decide. We never fill in or sign Form 8826.
Sources
- Internal Revenue Service, About Form 8826, Disabled Access Credit, reviewed August 27, 2026
- Internal Revenue Service, Form 8826 (Rev. September 2017), with its instructions
- 26 U.S.C. § 44, Disabled access credit (Legal Information Institute)
- Internal Revenue Service, Publication 334 (2025), Tax Guide for Small Business
- Internal Revenue Service, Instructions for Form 3800 (2025)
- Internal Revenue Service, Tax Tip 2023-66, May 11, 2023
- US Department of Justice, Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA, March 18, 2022
We checked this guide against its sources on the date at the top, and laws and court decisions can change after that. It's general information, not advice for your own store, so your lawyer or tax preparer has the final word.