Special HWB Claiming Period Open
We remind members who may have employees who were made eligible for the Health Care Worker Bonus (HWB) due to the November 2022 expansion of the program that the HWB portal is currently open for the special claiming period. Employers should submit bonus claims by March 3rd for both the first and second vesting periods for those individuals who were made eligible by the expansion and worked during the vesting period(s). For LeadingAge NY members, the expansion primarily impacts Medicaid Assisted Living Programs (ALPs) and members who employ security guards, a position that was originally excluded and then specifically made eligible as part of the November expansion. More information is available here, and the HWB page dedicated to that program expansion is here.
The Department of Health (DOH) updated the HWB Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document by adding two tax-related FAQs. Because the bonus payments are exempt from the employee’s New York State income taxes but subject to federal income tax, employers should enter the bonus income in Box 14 of the W-2. Members may want to let bonus recipients know that to ensure that the bonus remains exempt, the recipient should submit New York State tax form IT-225 along with their state income tax return. IT-225 is a modification form that is used to report additions or subtractions to federal adjusted gross income and has been updated to include a reason code (S-143) that is specifically used to identify HWB income. The form is available here, and instructions are here.
The two new FAQs are copied below:
Q. How should employees ensure their HWB Program bonus remain exempt from NYS taxes when filing their 2022 taxes, as W-2 income for Federal and State taxes must match?
A. Eligible employees should complete Form IT-225, and submit with their NYS tax return.
Q. When reporting employee earnings, what box on the W-2 should the HWB Program bonus be listed?
A. The HWB Program bonus should be recorded in Box 14 of the W-2.
LeadingAge NY Contact: Darius Kirstein, dkirstein@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8841