Who is an eligible preceptor?

Eligible preceptors include physicians or osteopathic physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, and pharmacists who are residents of Hawai‘i and who maintain a professional primary care practice in this state. Paid faculty members are not eligible.

Do I need to register to be considered for the Preceptor Tax Credit?

Yes, registration is required to be considered for this tax credit. Please visit our homepage and look for “Become a Registered Preceptor”. Click on the “Register Here” button and complete the registration form. Your registration will be active once you register the first time. Please be sure to register by December 1st.

How do I update my registration information?

Registered preceptors can update profile information by submitting a new registration form with the updated information.

What counts as volunteer-based supervised clinical training rotations?

Supervised clinical training of an eligible student that totals at least eighty hours of supervisory time annually, in which:

– The preceptor’s primary role is clinical care of patients;
– The preceptor has volunteered to provide personalized instruction, training, and supervision to an eligible student to enable the eligible student to obtain an eligible professional degree or training certificate; and
– The preceptor is uncompensated, financially, for the personalized instruction (e.g., payment from the student’s school received by the preceptor, stipends or bonuses from the preceptor’s employer, or salary for dedicated teaching).

Examples:

Qualifies:

– A clinician is hired by a health system as a full-time provider with patient care as the primary function of the role. The job duties include teaching students but limited or no change to patient schedule is provided should the clinician accept a student to precept.

– A clinician is hired by a health system as a full-time provider with patient care as the primary function of the role. The job duties include teaching students and some change to patient schedule is provided (i.e. an appointment slot is blocked per ¼ day for teaching) should the clinician accept a student to precept.

– A clinician owns a private practice and accepts students to train under their program. The clinician is not paid by the academic institution(s) to precept students.

– A healthcare organization receives payment from an academic institution to train their students, but these funds are not distributed to providers who train students by means of stipends, bonuses or other direct remuneration. Though the organization received support, the preceptor does not yield any benefit from the academic institution-healthcare organization agreement.

– A clinician is hired by an academic institution to be a faculty who receives a salary from grant funds for research. The clinician’s primary role is research. The job duties include teaching students but limited or no change to patient schedule is provided should the clinician accept a student to precept.

Does not qualify:

– A clinician is hired by an academic institution  to be a part-time faculty who receives a salary from the academic institution  using tuition funds or state general funds and whose primary role is to teach during the paid time. Scheduled and walk-in patients are assigned directly to trainees, and the role of the clinician is to oversee and guide the student’s patient care.

– A healthcare organization receives payment from an academic institution to train their students, and these funds are distributed to providers who train students by means of stipends, bonuses or other direct remuneration.

– A private practice clinician is paid by an academic or other institution to teach a student.

When does the tax credit take effect?

Taxable years beginning after December 31, 2018. All claims for the tax credit, including amended claims, shall be filed on or before the end of the twelfth month following the close of the taxable year for which the credits may be claimed. Failure to comply shall constitute a waiver of the right to claim the credit.

How do I claim the tax credit and become certified?

Submit your application at preceptortaxcredit.hawaii.edu. You only need to submit information once, but may change it at any time. This application allows you to be eligible for the Preceptor Tax Credit.

Once you precept a nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist or pharmacy student or medical student and resident from a Hawai‘i school or medical residency program, the educational program will confirm your hours of contact and eligible tax credits. By January 30 of the following year, the Department of Health will mail you the official Department of Taxation credit certification paperwork to submit with your taxes.

What happens if more than 1,500 credits are requested?

The total amount of approved tax credits is available at preceptortaxcredit.hawaii.edu. Once the maximum amount is reached, no more credits will be certified in that calendar year.

May I submit a certification for a rotation I plan to do?

Preceptors may register on the preceptortaxcredit.hawaii.edu website at any time, that’s all you have to do (other than precept students). The schools will then document the rotations you completed and submit the information to the Preceptor Credit Assurance Committee (PCAC) for certification.

Clinical rotations must be completed prior to submitting activities to the PCAC.  

What if the credits are more than I owe in state income taxes this year?

Tax credits that exceed individual tax liability may be applied to subsequent years until the total tax credit is exhausted. For example, if you only owe $4,000 in taxes in 2020, but are certified for $5,000 in tax credit, you can apply (carry forward) the extra $1,000 to the subsequent year of taxes (2021 and thereafter). For more guidance on how to do this, contact your tax preparer or the Department of Taxation.

I precept students from many schools. Which ones count/make me eligible for this credit?

The PCAC has determined that the below schools meet this criteria:

  • Chaminade University of Hawai‘i
  • Hawai‘i Pacific University APRN (FNP) students
  • University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene APRN (NP, CNS) students
  • University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Nursing APRN (NP) students
  • University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Daniel K. Inouye Pharmacy students
  • University of Hawai‘i John A. Burns School of Medicine students (medical students)
  • AT Still University Hawai‘i Campus medical students
  • Residents or fellows from UH JABSOM/Hawai‘i Residency Programs, Hawai‘i Island Family Medicine Residency Program, Tripler Army Medical Center residency programs and Kaiser Internal Medicine Residency Program.

Which professions are eligible as preceptors?

APRNs, MDs, DOs, RPhs who are residents of Hawai‘i with a license and practice primary care in Hawai‘i are eligible preceptors.

What if I am not licensed in Hawai‘i?

You are not eligible for this credit. To be eligible, you must have a Hawai‘i license as an MD, DO, APRN, or RPh and you must have a practice in Hawai‘i. You may become eligible by becoming licensed in Hawai‘i.

What is a resident of Hawai‘i?

For the purposes of this credit, an individual who is domiciled (living) in the state, permanently or temporarily for more than 200 days pursuant to Chapter 235-1.

Is there a preference for rural or neighbor island practitioners?

Rural and neighbor island practitioners are eligible for this credit. There is no prioritization by geographical practice setting at this time.

What, for the purposes of this credit, is primary care?

Primary care includes healthcare professionals who

  1. Are the principal point of contact
  2. Engage in coordination of care beyond the principal point of contact
  3. Primary practice location must be ambulatory; however, should a provider round in the hospital setting, the student/resident may follow the provider into the hospital in accordance with the provider’s practice.

For educational purposes, the following types of clinical rotation will be included:

Medicine

University of Hawai‘i John A. Burns School of Medicine 

Residency – Pediatrics
– General Pediatrics private office
– Neighbor Island IEU – Primary Care

Residency – Family Medicine
– Ambulatory Pediatrics
– Community Pediatrics
– Geriatrics
– Gynecology
– Veterans Affairs
– Sports Medicine

Residency – Geriatrics
– Teaching Nursing Home (TNH)
– Veterans Affairs (VA)
– Queens Home Care
– Veterans Affairs – Clinical Living Center (VA-CLC)
– Kaiser Outpatient
– PCP Longitudinal Clinics

First Year Longitudinal Clinical Skills Preceptorship in primary care office (MS1/MS2 Longitudinal Clinical Skills Preceptorship)
Third Year Family Medicine Clerkship (3rd Year FMCH Clerkship)
Third Year Internal Medicine Clerkship (3rd Year IM Clerkship – Ambulatory Portion)
Third Year Longitudinal Clerkship Program for Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Pediatrics, and OB (Longitudinal Clerkship)
Fourth Year Ambulatory Primary Care Preceptorships (4th year electives in Family Medicine, Pediatrics, and Internal Medicine)
Fourth Year Geriatrics Clerkship (4th year required clerkship in Geriatrics)

AT Still University Hawai‘i Campus

OMS2 Continuity Clinic
Pediatrics
Family Medicine (outpatient)
OB/Gyn inpatient and outpatient (Women’s Health)
Internal Medicine 1 (outpatient)
Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine
Sports Medicine

Nursing

Hawai‘i Pacific University APRN (FNP) students

NUR 6961 – Pediatrics Rotation
NUR 6963 – OB Rotation
NUR 6965 – Adult Rotation
NUR 6967 – Geriatrics Rotation

University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Nursing APRN (NP) students

606L Rural Health
607L Adult Health
608L Older Adult Health
609L Women’s Health
610L Pediatrics Health

University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene DNP: FNP and AGPCNP students

NURS 675 Advanced Practice Clinical
NURS 676L Primary Care I Lab (Beginning Level) Health Assessment
NURS 677L Primary Care II Lab (Intermediate Level) Acute & Chronic Conditions (Adult)
NURS 678L Primary Care III Lab Special Populations (Pediatrics, Geriatrics, Women’s Health)
NURS 679L Primary Care IV Lab (Advanced Level) Primary Care Integration Across the Lifespan
NURS 693 Adult Health Clinical Nurse Specialists

Pharmacy

University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Daniel K. Inouye Pharmacy students

APPE Medicine – P4 Core Medicine
APPE Ambulatory Care – P4 Core Ambulatory Care
APPE P4 Core Ambulatory Care
APPE P4 Ambulatory Care Elective
APPE P4 Home/Infusion Nutrition Elective
APPE P4 Diabetes Elective
APPE P4 Long Term Care Elective
APPE P4 Care Transitions Elective
APPE P4 Pediatrics Elective
APPE P4 Disease State Management/MTM Elective
APPE P4 Specialty Retail/Compounding Elective

All

  • Specialists on a case-by-case basis
  • Guidance for specialists is that the learning location must be primarily ambulatory and the student may follow the provider into the hospital in accordance with the provider’s practice.

For further guidance on compensation, please contact the Department of Taxation.

What is the time allocation per student(s)?

1) A preceptor can be credited based upon cumulative contact hours over multiple block rotations and with multiple students within the same calendar year.

Examples:

  • a) A preceptor has two students on a block rotation, each student receives 40 contact hours. The preceptor will be assigned 80 contact hours (one tax credit).
  • b) A preceptor has two students during separate block rotations the same year, each student receives 40 contact hours.  Again the preceptor will be assigned 80 contact hours (one tax credit).

2) For each block rotation, the preceptor can be credited with a maximum of one tax credit per student.

Example:

  • A preceptor has 160 contact hours with a student during a block rotation. The preceptor will be assigned one tax credit. Same preceptor has 100 clinical teaching hours with second student and 85 contact hours with a third student during the same block rotation. The preceptor will be assigned a total of three tax credits.

3) A preceptor cannot receive more tax credits than the total number of students taught during a block rotation.

Example:

  • A preceptor has three students during a block rotation with 110 contact hours per student. The preceptor will be assigned three tax credits.

4) Where multiple providers share students during a block rotation, the educational program will allocate contact hours to the providers based upon information provided.

Example:

  • A preceptor equally shares three students during a block rotation with two other providers. The total contact hours is 330 hours for the block rotation. Each preceptor will be assigned 80 contact hours or one tax credit.

May I oversee more than one student to earn a credit?

Yes, given that the total combined precepted time ≥80 hours. See answer for “What is the time allocation per student(s)?”

Uncompensated means not receiving “gross income” pursuant to IRS section 61(a) from any source, or “release time” for teaching medical, osteopathic, APRN, or pharmacy students or medical residents.  Examples of “Compensation” that disqualify you for this tax credit: buy out of clinical time or expectations; or dedicated time for teaching.

What is the amount of tax credit per rotation?

Each tax credit is $1,000 with a maximum of five credits or $5,000 per individual per calendar year. This program is funded at a total of $1,500,000 or 1,500 total tax credits.