8 federal payroll tax credits - most expanded or made permanent for 2026

Turn your payroll into tax credits

Upload one payroll report - or type a few numbers off your books - and we find every federal credit hiding in it, stack them into one number, and hand a CPA-ready packet to your accountant. Free until they file. We do the math; we don't file for you.

How it works
No names or SSNs needed CPA-ready IRS forms Free until your CPA files
Real result

A Little Caesars franchisee: $31,338 back - from the tip credit alone.

That's just §45B (FICA tips) across 2024–2025 - money their team already reported. We screen 7 more federal credits on the same payroll (health care, retirement, and more). Read from their ADP export, packaged for their CPA. We do the math; the CPA files.

“Doesn't my accountant already do this?”

Almost always: no - and it's the wrong job to expect of them.

Filing ≠ hunting credits

Your CPA files your return. Combing payroll line-by-line for the FICA tip credit and seven others is separate work most CPAs don't do unless you hand it to them.

Hours of work, done for you

We do the discovery and substantiation - several hours per year - and hand your accountant a ready-to-file packet. Miss it, and that money is left on the table.

If they already claim it, you owe nothing

Our fee is a share of credits you actually receive. If your CPA is already getting all of these, there's no new money - and nothing to pay us. Zero risk to check.

What we find - and what it's worth

One payroll report screens all eight federal employer credits. Drag the slider to size the stack to your business - it repeats at every location you run from one login.

Your credit stackExample

$8,000$107,500/yr

for a single location

How many locations?1 location
150
FICA Tip Credit §45B$1,000$15,000
Small Business Health Care §45R$2,000$30,000
Retirement Plan Startup §45E/§45T$1,000$5,500
Disabled Access §44$500$5,000
Paid Family & Medical Leave §45S$1,000$8,000
Differential Wage (Military) §45P$500$4,000
Employer Childcare §45F$2,000$40,000

Illustrative range - few businesses qualify for all eight at once, and your exact figure comes from your payroll. You pay 15% on your first location, 10% on each additional; your CPA confirms every figure before filing.

The eight we screen for - per location

Automatic

FICA Tip Credit §45B

Recover 7.65% of the tips your staff report.

Federal - available in every state; value scales with your tip volume.

$1,000$15,000/yr

per location

How it works
One number

Small Business Health Care §45R

Up to 50% of the health premiums you pay for your team.

Wage-sensitive - phases out where average wages are high, so it's often thin for CA employers outside lower-wage areas.

$2,000$30,000/yr

per location

How it works
One number

Retirement Plan Startup §45E/§45T

Up to $5,000/yr for three years for starting a 401(k) or retirement plan.

Available in any state.

$1,000$5,500/yr

per location

How it works
One number

Disabled Access §44

Half of what you spend making your space ADA-accessible.

Available in any state.

$500$5,000/yr

per location

How it works
One number

Paid Family & Medical Leave §45S

12.5%–25% of the wages you pay employees on family or medical leave.

Made permanent & expanded for 2026 (OBBBA). Works even in states with mandated PFML - for the leave you fund above the state minimum.

$1,000$8,000/yr

per location

How it works
One number

Differential Wage (Military) §45P

20% of the make-up pay for employees called to active military duty.

Any state. 20% of up to $20,000 of make-up pay per employee called to active duty over 30 days.

$500$4,000/yr

per location

How it works
One number

Employer Childcare §45F

40–50% of what you spend providing child care for your team.

Quadrupled for 2026 (OBBBA): 40% of childcare spend (50% for small businesses), up to $500K–$600K.

$2,000$40,000/yr

per location

How it works
Tracked (not billed)

Work Opportunity Credit WOTC

We guard the 28-day hiring-credit deadline so eligibility survives. In hiatus - never billed.

Any state - each hire must be certified by your state workforce agency (e.g. CA EDD), with Form 8850 filed within 28 days.

Deadline protection

tracked · not billed

How it works

Could you actually claim them?

These are federal credits with real limits - headcount, wages, your state's tip and health-coverage rules. Check where you likely stand in a few clicks.

Eligibility Explorer

Which credits could you claim?

A few quick facts - see where you likely qualify and what would limit each credit. No signup.

Pick your state to see your likely credits.

Directional estimate only (June 2026 data), not tax advice. Your CPA confirms eligibility - and P.A.I.D. runs the exact numbers once you upload your payroll report.

How it works

Three steps from “I had no idea” to money your CPA can actually file. Nothing to pay until it's claimed.

Your payroll report - or a few numbers
P.A.I.D. computes all 8 credits, de-duplicated
Your CPA files one packet - pay only then
Step 1

See your number - free

Six quick questions. A dollar range on screen.

No account, no email, no card. Answer a few rough figures - headcount, tips, premiums - and see a conservative estimate of what you could be owed before you commit to anything.

Step 2

Upload your report - or type the numbers

One file, or a few figures, feeds all 8 credits.

Export your payroll report - we have step-by-step instructions for ADP (and more coming) - then upload it. We read hours, wages, and tips per employee and pre-fill your credits. Don't have a report handy? Just type the numbers off your books. No SSNs, no names.

Step 3

We calculate, your CPA files

A packet of real IRS forms - pay only when filed.

We compute all eight credits, de-duplicate overlapping wages so nothing is counted twice, and generate a CPA-ready packet mapped line-for-line to the IRS forms. Your accountant reviews and files. Our success fee applies only after it's filed - never upfront.

Why trust it? We're a calculator, not a tax-prep mill. We never file, never sign, never give tax advice - and we only get paid a percentage of credits you actually keep, after your CPA files them.

Get in touch

Questions, partnerships, press, or you'd rather just talk it through - reach us directly and we'll get back to you.

Give us an email or a phone - whichever you prefer.

See what your business is owed

A couple of minutes, no card, nothing to pay until your CPA files.

Talk to us

P.A.I.D. is a software calculator - not a CPA, law firm, or tax-preparation service. We estimate the credits you may be eligible to claim and prepare CPA-ready IRS forms. We do not file, sign, e-file, or submit anything to the IRS, and we do not give tax, legal, or accounting advice. Every figure is an estimate your own tax professional reviews, approves, and files. See our disclosures and terms.