Rural Preceptor Tax Credit: How to Qualify
The Rural Preceptor Tax Credit Helps to Build the Primary Care Pipeline in Colorado, and Rural CAFP Members Can See a Financial Benefit
At 104,000 square miles, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover in Colorado. It may be no surprise that patients, in many cases, have to travel 30 miles or more just to see their primary care doctor. In fact, several counties in Colorado don’t have a single primary care physician. This challenge of getting care to the places and people most in need is not a new one, but innovative strategies are needed to ensure we can meet the needs of Coloradans everywhere. That’s why this year, a new rural preceptor tax credit will be available to primary care physicians who precept medical students in rural communities. By taking at least one student for a 4-week rotation, you can qualify for a $1,000 personal income tax credit.
You can qualify for the rural preceptor tax credit starting in the 2017 tax year. The Colorado School of Medicine or your regional Area Health Education Center (AHEC) will be able to provide you with a certification to acknowledge your eligibility for the credit.
To qualify, you’ll just need to meet a few requirements:
- Be an MD, DO, PA, APN, or dentist
- Practice in primary care
- Be an unpaid volunteer preceptor for a student on a 4-week rotation
- Be practicing in a rural or frontier area. You can verify eligibility through one of the certifying agencies, but generally those living in a county without a city of 50,000+ people will qualify.
Become a Preceptor
There are currently 160 rural primary care preceptors across the various professions. However, we need 300 to meet the interest of students who want to rotate in a rural area. If you or a colleague you know is interested in being a preceptor, now is a great time to get involved to help train the next generation of primary care physicians. In addition to the teaching experience and the tax credit, several other benefits of precepting include:
- A leadership role in training students and shaping the future of Family Medicine
- A faculty appointment
- Library and Up To Date access
To Find out More about precepting for the MD or DO programs:
CU School of Medicine Office of Community Based Medical Education: (303) 724-0044
Rocky Vista University Office of Clinical Affairs: Email oca@rvu.edu or call (720) 875-2838
The bill establishing the tax credit, House Bill 16-1142, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. We are grateful to the bill’s sponsors for shepherding it through the General Assembly. We thank them for their leadership: Rep. Perry Buck (R- Windsor), Rep. Joann Ginal (D-Fort Collins), Sen. Larry Crowder (R-Alamosa) and Sen. John Cooke (R-Greeley). The bill was championed by the Colorado Academy of Family Physicians in partnership with the Colorado Rural Health Center and Colorado AHEC. We’d also like to thank Governor John Hickenlooper for his support in signing the bill into law on June 6, 2016.