Months after some may have given up on it, the Louisiana Workforce Commission has finally released the Louisiana Earned Income Credit notice for 2018. This mandatory posting, which is updated yearly and usually released at the beginning of the year, informs employees of the potential availability of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the maximum income levels at which they may qualify.
What is the Louisiana EITC?
The Earned Income Tax Credit is a refundable tax credit that primarily benefits low- and middle-income working families, although single parents and some low-income individuals without children may also qualify. It is designed to incentivize work by increasing with income level and then gradually phasing out, which reduces the economic shock that may be induced by other benefits which abruptly cut off at a specified income.
Louisiana is also one of 29 states that offer a supplemental state tax credit. (The District of Columbia also provides a supplemental tax credit.) During a 2018 special session on taxes, Louisiana lawmakers voted to increase the state tax credit from 3.5% of the federal credit to 5% of the federal credit starting in 2019.
To qualify for the EITC, for the 2018 tax year, earned income (such as wages, tips, commissions, and other taxable pay) and adjusted gross income must both be less than:
| Earned Income |
No Children | 1 Qualifying Child | 2 Qualifying Children | 3 or More Qualifying Children |
| Single | $15,270 | $40,320 | $45,802 | $49,194 |
| Married (Filing Jointly) | $20,950 | $46,010 | $51,492 | $54,884 |
According to a 2013 report by the Louisiana Budget Project, almost 30 percent of Louisiana households claim the EITC yearly, with that number rising to nearly 50 percent in some high-poverty parishes. Although these tax credits can have a huge impact on the finances of working families, sometimes raising them above the poverty level, research by the Internal Revenue Service and the Government Accountability Office indicates that between 15 and 25 percent of households entitled to the EITC do not claim their credits.
Since 2005, Louisiana law has required employers with 20 or more workers (both full-time and part-time) to inform employees below a specified income level of their potential EITC eligibility at the time of hire in order to spread awareness of the tax credit. For 2018, employers must inform new hires of the potential availability of the EITC if the employee is projected to earn $48,000 or less annually.
Louisiana EITC Posting Requirements
Every employer is required to conspicuously post abstracts of labor laws as designated by the Executive Director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission in or about the premises wherein any worker is employed (Louisiana Revised Statutes,§23:15). The Commission lists the Louisiana Earned Income Credit notice on its list of required postings for employers.
A separate statute specifies that business establishments are required to conspicuously post the Louisiana Earned Income Credit notice “in the same location where other employee notices required by state or federal law are posted” (Louisiana Revised Statutes § 23:1018.2).
CPC’s Louisiana All-On-One™ Poster makes compliance easy by consolidating the most commonly-required state and federal required postings onto one convenient and attractive wall poster. We also carry a Mobile Poster Pak™ booklet for mobile and off-site workers.
If you already own one of Compliance Poster Company’s signature products, you can update your Louisiana EIC notice using the cost-effective 2018 Louisiana Earned Income Credit Peel ‘N Post™ sticker for only $9.95 – available in English and Spanish.
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Please keep in mind that we are unable to provide legal advice.