Most shared employees will see an increase in take-home pay under the new Making Work Pay tax credit.

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Congress passed the Making Work Pay tax credit - a refundable tax credit for working taxpayers for 2009 and 2010. Eligible individual employees will receive a tax credit up to $400.00. Eligible married employees filing a joint return will receive a tax credit up to $800.00. The credit will be phased out for individual taxpayers having a modified gross income above $75,000, or $150,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return.

The Making Work Pay tax credit will not be paid out in a lump sum. Instead, the credit will be paid through-out the year in the form of a reduction in the amount of taxes withheld from employees’ pay checks.

Brumley’s payroll department has now implemented the new tax tables used by employers to calculate employees’ income tax withholdings. Accordingly, shared employees who qualify for the credit will receive higher take-home pay beginning with their paychecks issued after March 1, 2009. For more information about the Making Work Pay tax credit, please click here.

COBRA Continuation Coverage Assistance under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Brumley’s Benefits Department will announce in the next several days the suggested process for the new COBRA subsidy. Generally, employees who were involuntarily separated on or after September 1, 2008, may be eligible for a federal subsidy equal to 65% of their COBRA or Texas State Continuation benefit premiums. For more information about this new program please click here.

It’s Not Too Late to Sign-Up for E-Verify

We previously announced that Brumley PEO has signed-up for the E-Verify Program. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) created the E-Verify program - an Internet based system that allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees.

E-Verify is free and voluntary. The E-Verify program is only for new hires. Existing and rehired employees cannot be screened. For more information about the E-Verify Program, please click here.

If you choose to participate in E-Verify, we will use the information from the Form I-9 to verify a newly hired employee’s eligibility. The initial screening is simple and results are typically available within minutes.

If an employee receives an initial non-confirmation of their employment eligibility, they will be referred to either the SSA or the DHS to resolve their case. They must make the visit within 8 federal government workdays from the date of referral. During this time, the employee must be allowed to continue to work and no adverse action can be taken against them. If the employee elects not to contest their case or if the SSA issues a Final Non-Confirmation or the DHS reports that Employment is Unauthorized, then both the client company and Brumley PEO must take action to terminate the employee.

If you are interested in the E-Verify program through Brumley PEO or for more information about the program requirements, please click here.