If you are an employer who continued to pay an employee while they were away from work performing volunteer firefighting or emergency response duties, you may qualify for the Maine Employer Credit for Volunteer Firefighters, Volunteer Municipal Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Persons, and Volunteer Municipal Firefighters. This credit is available to eligible employers and is based on compensation paid to qualifying employees during volunteer emergency response activities.
Who Can Claim the Maine Employer Credit for Volunteer Responders?
You may qualify for this credit if your employee:
- Was an active volunteer firefighter, volunteer municipal EMS person, or volunteer municipal firefighter recognized by a Maine municipality.
- Responded to fire or EMS calls during hours they were scheduled to work.
- Continued to receive their regular rate of pay while away from work performing eligible volunteer duties.
The credit is equal to the compensation paid to qualifying employees at their regular rate of pay while they were absent from work due to firefighting or emergency response responsibilities.
Gather Information for the Credit Worksheet
Before entering the credit, gather the following information for each eligible employee:
- Employee name
- Employee Social Security number
- Volunteer fire association or municipality
- Number of work hours missed due to volunteer emergency response activities
- Employee's regular rate of pay
Required Verification Documents
To claim the credit, you must obtain verification from the volunteer fire association, municipal fire department, or emergency response organization. The verification must include:
- The date and time of the emergency response during scheduled work hours.
- Confirmation that the employee was an active volunteer at that time.
- Confirmation that the employee met Maine's volunteer service requirements.
Calculate the Maine Employer Credit for Volunteer Responders
Complete the Maine Employer Support for Volunteer Firefighters, Volunteer Municipal Emergency Medical Services Persons, and Volunteer Municipal Firefighters Credit Worksheet.
For each eligible employee:
- Enter the number of work hours during which the employee performed volunteer emergency response activities.
- Enter the employee's regular rate of pay.
- Multiply the hours by the regular rate of pay to determine eligible compensation.
Add the eligible compensation amounts for all qualifying employees. The total is your allowable credit.
Enter the Maine Employer Credit for Volunteer Responders
Follow these steps in your Maine return:
- Maine State Return
- Select the three dots (Edit)
- Credits
- Other Credits
- Employer Credit for Volunteer Firefighters and Volunteer EMS Persons Employer Credit
Enter the total credit amount from Line 6 of the completed worksheet.
Add Additional Employees
If you need to enter more than one qualifying employee, select the plus sign (+) in the green circle labeled "Add Entry" on the Employer Support for Volunteer Firefighters and Volunteer EMS Persons page.
Enter the required information for each additional employee, including:
- Employee name
- Volunteer fire association or municipality
- Number of eligible work hours
- Regular rate of pay
Repeat this process for each employee who qualifies for the credit. The program will use all entries to calculate the total credit amount reported on your Maine return.
Limitation
The credit may not exceed your Maine tax liability.