‘Tis the season … to let your employees know about the Earned Income Tax Credit.
If you’re an employer, you have to. That’s according to the Maryland Comptroller’s Office, which has released Tax Alert 12-11, explaining that employers have until New Year’s Eve to notify their employees of their possible eligibility for the state’s EITC. (Special thanks to MACPA member Chris Kolb of the Comptroller’s Office for bringing this to our attention.)
According to the alert, workers might be eligible to claim an EITC on their 2012 state and federal returns “if both their federal adjusted gross income and their earned income is less than the following”:
- $45,060 ($50,270 married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children.
- $41,952 ($47,162 married filing jointly) with two qualifying children.
- $36,920 ($42,130 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child.
- $13,980 ($19,190 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children.
“Employees who meet this income eligibility should be advised to go to the Internal Revenue Service website at www.irs.gov, or contact their tax advisor, to see if they meet the other federal criteria,” the alert states. “Employees who meet all of the federal requirements may be eligible for a Maryland credit up to half of the federal EITC, but not greater than the state income tax. Additionally, certain employees may also qualify for a refundable Maryland credit, or a local EITC.”
Read the alert in its entirety, then check out this “Important Notice to Maryland Employees.”
You may now resume … whatever it was you were doing a few minutes ago.