Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue I, 2014 | Page 84
People
By Nate DaPore
Pardon Me, Is This
Your Two Grand?
If you’re not filing employee tax credits,
it very well could be!
D
o you know there is “free”
money out there for your
business, and that it is easier
than ever to claim it? Last
year alone, TaxBreak, a tax credit recovery and processing firm, discovered
more than $200 million in available tax
credits for clients. Many businesses don’t
take advantage of the tax credit opportunities available to them, for several
different reasons.
Tax credits are designed to encourage businesses to provide job opportunities to groups such as veterans, those
in a specified demographic, or those in a
specific geographic area. To qualify, your
business must have recently paid federal
taxes and be for-profit. Businesses with
hourly workers and high turnover tend
to see the highest qualification rates.
Thousands of tax credit opportunities
are available through federal and state
programs. The most common is the
Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC),
which provides incentives for hiring individuals in designated groups, such as
veterans. Others include Empowerment
Zone Employment Credits, which are
designed to help stimulate the economy
in high-poverty regions and are worth
up to $3,000 per year for each qualifying employee; and the FICA Tip Credit,
which varies depending on wages, tips,
and state tax credits.
Twenty percent of hourly wage earners
qualify their employers for a tax credit
up to $9,600 per new hire, with an average tax credit of $1,200. If you have 100
employees, for example, 20 individuals
will qualify for an average $1,200 each—
earning you $24,000 in available tax
credits. Imagine what you can do with
an additional $24,000 annually.
82
Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s ue I, 2014
Don’t walk
away from your
organization’s
share of the
millions of dollars
in tax credits that
are available to
you each year.
Can you afford to leave this money
on the table? A tax credit, unlike a deduction, actually reduces the amount of
taxes you owe each year and adds money
directly to your bottom line—money that
you can put back into your business to
help it grow.
Doing it right
Applying for, processing, or collecting
tax credits can be time-consuming. It
takes a lot of effort, deadline tracking,
and organization to ensure that you
provide all of the required information
properly for each credit. In the past, the
additional paperwork burden HR teams
had to manage when dealing with tax
credits was such a huge issue that many
companies simply chose not to participate. With the approval of the E-Sign
Act by the federal government and various partnerships with HR technology
companies, the process is now simple
and virtually paper-free.
To be successful with a tax credit program, you must make sure to review every
person who applies and comes to work
for your company—something that can
only be done effectively and accurately by
using technology. Prescreening questions
can be easily integrated into the online
job application process. The results are
typically accessible during the applicant
tracking and onboarding process.
Don’t walk away from your organization’s share of the millions of dollars
in tax credits that are available to you
each year. These credits are designed
to help your business grow and to help
stimulate the economy. So embrace the
tools of today to help you track your tax
credits… because this two grand I just
found might be yours!
Nate DaPore is president
and CEO of PeopleMatter.
He is passionate about providing team members, including his own, with a rewarding workplace
experience that values creativity and innovation. Contact him at 877-230-4088 or info@
peoplematter.com.