School is out, and teens and young adults are looking for work. For a business owner, this is an ideal time to hire a few spare hands and provide young adults the opportunity to develop valuable social and business skills, build a strong work ethic, and gain professional experience.
The benefits of seasonal hires:
Placing your teen or young adult on the payroll
Your teen can learn the family business, and the value of developing a strong work ethic through hands-on practice. It keeps kids busy, focused, and learning. A young adult, or teen, can earn up to $6,350 in 2017, tax free. They now have the freedom and funds to purchase their new, latest, greatest, technology or phone! They will learn and practice responsibility, and understand that hard work pays off.
Summer interns
Rules for hiring interns have become stringent and regulated over time, especially when it comes to unpaid internships. Companies must follow guidelines for this specific type of hire, and can’t be regarded as “free labor”. The internship must be similar to training which would be nurtured in an educational environment and will also benefit the intern for their work and educational skills. The intern must not displace regular employees and must work under close supervision of existing staff (i.e., you can’t replace regular needed office staff with unpaid interns).
Tax credit for hiring certain workers
Investigate if you qualify for the work opportunity tax credit regarding hiring “summer youth.” The candidate must meet criteria of being aged 16 – 17 and live in a federally-designated empowerment zone (Empowerment zones are certain urban and rural areas where employers and other taxpayers qualify for special tax incentives). The person also cannot be a relative, worked for you the prior year, and must be employed between May 1 and September 1 to receive tax credit.
Everybody wins with seasonal summer hires. It’s a great way to provide work experience for our youth and can be a beneficial and educational way to operate your company.
