We need businesses to help provide opportunities for some disadvantaged neighborhoods. Did you know that there is a tax credit for hiring employees from a so-called "Empowerment Zone?" These jobs can put food on table and help people start a career. These jobs can even help reduce crime and provided residents with a sense of pride. Listen, the IRS isn't always this nice so act fast if you can qualify. The tax credit ends December 31, 2016. I will provide the basics on what you need to know with links. It will be up to seek help to apply for the credit.

December 31st is almost here so.......


The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Agriculture designated 40 economically distressed locations as empowerment zones. Find a list of them in the instructions to IRS Form 8844.

Key Empowerment Zone tax benefits include:

• Empowerment Zone Employment Credit. Eligible employers can claim this credit on Form 8844. It is worth up to $3,000 and is available to businesses based on wages paid to each qualified employee who both lives and works in an empowerment zone,
• Increased expensing for qualifying depreciable property,
• Tax-exempt bond financing,
• Deferral of capital gains tax on the sale of qualified assets sold and replaced, and
• Partial exclusion of capital gains tax on certain sales of qualified small business stock.

Find more information about empowerment zones on HUD’s website at https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/community-renewal-initiative.

Empowerment Zones
Urban areas.   Parts of the following urban areas were empowerment zones. You can find out if your business or an employee’s residence is located within an urban empowerment zone by using the EZ/RC Address Locator at www.hud.gov/crlocator

Pulaski County, AR

Tucson, AZ

Fresno, CA

Los Angeles, CA (city and county)

Santa Ana, CA

New Haven, CT

Jacksonville, FL

Miami/Dade County, FL

Chicago, IL

Gary/Hammond/East Chicago, IN

Boston, MA

Baltimore, MD

Detroit, MI

Minneapolis, MN

St. Louis, MO/East St. Louis, IL

Cumberland County, NJ

New York, NY

Syracuse, NY

Yonkers, NY

Cincinnati, OH

Cleveland, OH

Columbus, OH

Oklahoma City, OK

Philadelphia, PA/Camden, NJ

Columbia/Sumter, SC

Knoxville, TN

El Paso, TX

San Antonio, TX

Norfolk/Portsmouth, VA

Huntington, WV/Ironton, OH

Rural areas.   Parts of the following rural areas were empowerment zones. You can find out if your business or an employee’s residence is located within a rural empowerment zone by using the EZ/RC Address Locator at www.hud.gov/crlocator.

Desert Communities, CA (part of Riverside County)

Southwest Georgia United, GA (part of Crisp County and all of Dooly County)

Southernmost Illinois Delta, IL (parts of Alexander and Johnson Counties and all of Pulaski County)

Kentucky Highlands, KY (part of Wayne County and all of Clinton and Jackson Counties)

Aroostook County, ME (part of Aroostook County)

Mid-Delta, MS (parts of Bolivar, Holmes, Humphreys, Leflore, Sunflower, and Washington Counties)

Griggs-Steele, ND (part of Griggs County and all of Steele County)

Oglala Sioux Tribe, SD (parts of Jackson and Bennett Counties and all of Shannon County)

Middle Rio Grande FUTURO Communities, TX (parts of Dimmit, Maverick, Uvalde, and Zavala Counties)

Rio Grande Valley, TX (parts of Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy Counties)

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Stikks Signing Off Until Next Time!