By Roger Russell
Accounting Today
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Tax Credit Company president Brandon Edwards calls the HIRE Act a “game changer” for mid-market and smaller companies that now can take advantage of the hiring incentive program.
His company specializes in finding credits that are missed by companies, their accountants, or other employer service companies.
“It’s the broadest hiring incentive program that I’ve seen in my career,” he said. “It opens up new opportunities for companies that are not accustomed to screening employees for tax credits. That would include nonprofits and public universities, and other companies that for one reason or another don’t pay tax taxes because of losses or their corporate structure.”
The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act includes incentives to encourage businesses to hire and retain workers who have been unemployed for at least 60 days. The incentives consist of a 6.2 percent payroll tax exemption for new hires, which is the equivalent of the employer’s share for Social Security tax on wages. The measure is effective for wages paid from March 19, 2010, through the end of the year.
“Tax-exempt organizations are not traditionally interested in credits,” observed Edwards. “But since the payroll exemption incentive is not an income tax credit but is a payroll tax exemption, they should be interested in this.”
