President Barack Obama recently signed into law the $17.5 billion Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act which encourages companies to hire unemployed workers by exempting certain wages from Social Security taxes and by providing employers with a tax credit if new hires are retained for at least 52 consecutive weeks. This legislation impacts companies of all sizes.
Specifically, an employer would be exempt from paying its share of 2010 Social Security taxes on any new hire who has been without full-time employment for at least 60 days. The maximum tax break an employer could gain per employee under this provision would be $6,621, or 6.2 percent of total wages paid in 2010 up to the $106,800 FICA wage cap.
We have been notified that Sage is acting swiftly and is fully committed to helping our Sage Abra clients navigate these changes. They are currently working on implementing changes to the Sage Abra and products to help organizations comply with the HIRE Act and will reflect the legislative changes in an upcoming release.
The HIRE Act offers an opportunity to demonstrate Sage’s leadership and commitment to our customers. You will receive more specifics on the schedule and changes to the software within the next coming weeks.