What is due to the company when paying back a sign on bonus?

16 Comments

1. Crystal HowellMarch 25,2023 at 12:39PM UTC

   Contact local eeco or unemployment office.

2. Angela P.March 25,2023 at 1:18PM UTC

   EECO yes, unemployment I wouldn't trust with a ladder and a lightbulb to change. Get an attorney and don't under any circumstances let them hand you a bill. I have never had to pay back a signing bonus and neither has my husband no matter what the offer letter said. Particularly when I have had to quit for cause!

3. AnonymousMarch 25,2023 at 1:47PM UTC

   Definitely contact an attorney because laws could vary depending upon the state. A Fortune 500 that I worked at previously did require payback and was able to demand it from every employee that left before the period ended. It was a very toxic environment and had high turnover after that 1 year period. If you do have to pay it back you pay the gross amount not the net. If they paid you $10,000 but you received $8,000 after taxes, you will owe the $10,000.

4. Angela P.March 25,2023 at 6:34PM UTC

   There is no virtue in being a doormat. I live in a state where a 'signing bonus' can be forfeited for very specific circumstances & is otherwise not legally enforceable. Noncompetes, on the other hand, are never enforceable full stop.

   If I relied on HR to tell me what I should or shouldn't do, I'd be out literally hundreds of thousands of dollars & have missed out on several amazing opportunities. And for what? Because I 'owed' my previous employer my consent to their attempts to circumvent labor law in my state? F*that.

5. Mary PoolMarch 26,2023 at 1:33PM UTC

   You need to contact an attorney who specializes in these things. Sometimes just a letter from an attorney will stop these things because it will cost more to fight than to forfeit the bonus.

6. Shanna WilliamsMarch 26,2023 at 4:28PM UTC

   Surely they had you sign something outlining the terms of the sign on bonus. If not, then they really can’t make you repay it.

7. AnonymousMarch 26,2023 at 5:02PM UTC

   If you're returning the bonus it shouldn't be included on your W2 at YE...Otherwise, it's counted & taxable as part of your income

8. Sarah PageMarch 26,2023 at 6:13PM UTC

   The federal tax was paid by you out of the bonus so they would not be requesting that be paid back., The social security tax that they paid was 6.2% and the Medicare was 1.45%, any federal and state unemployment amounts depend on a number of things so 10% sounds reasonable. I would check the agreement you signed to see if this was to be paid back at a prorated amount or not.

9. AnonymousMarch 27,2023 at 12:49PM UTC

   I agree with reviewing the terms of your bonus agreement. Also, are you paying it back in the same tax year that you received it? If so, you may just need to return the net pay. If not, you can ask for the FICA taxes to be returned. But you may need to return the rest. You would not get a W-2C for the prior year. But you should get a statement of corrected wages. Try the Repayment section of IRS Publication 525. You may be able to take it as a credit in the current year when you file your taxes.

10. Elaine ChenMarch 27,2023 at 2:53PM UTC

    Yes, you would pay back the full amount of the bonus before taxes to your employer. Bear in mind that your employer does not have that money either - it was paid on your behalf to the government. Next year you will therefore get that money back in the form of a tax refund if it turns out you overpaid. Do make sure to consult a tax professional and make sure the value of the bonus is not included in your income tax forms from the company or is deducted by you however.

11. AnonymousMarch 27,2023 at 3:52PM UTC

    Yes you must pay back the full amount. In future if this situation happens try to get you new employer to offset the bonus by giving you one as well. What you are experiencing is called a claw back. I work in HR and for the reasons you are speaking of really hate giving hiring bonuses. The only time you don't pay them back is when the company lets you go.

12. AnonymousMarch 27,2023 at 4:41PM UTC

    Thank you so much; I appreciate the feedback.

    The bummer here is that I did what due diligence I could about the company online as well as looking at their code of conduct policy online and asked what I thought were pretty good questions during the interview and yet.... my boss yells and intimidates and gaslights and is genuinely obstructive in trying to get work done - I left for my own well being and before doing so, I handed over several months worth of documentation with exhibits of what I was witness to. Before doing that, I tried having a very transparent 60+ minute conversation with my boss at my 5 month mark sharing my concerns for the team and the blowback we/her direct reports were getting from the business for our boss' actions, and she could care less - no accountability, no integrity, and no concern or interest in anything, not even team building for the remote team. I tried to "manage up" in a supportive way, offering what I have learned has helped other teams I've worked on over the course of the last 20 years in this industry.

    I do imagine that HR and my boss' boss is aware that there is a consistent pattern of people quitting after they reach their 1-year mark - in the 7 months that I was there, attrition rate was 50%.

    Had I known what I was walking into, I would have never signed the offer letter. I've faced a lot of challenges but I have never met a boss that is truly awful on multiple layers.

    Can anyone suggest what kind of questions one would ask during the interview process that would help get at vetting a hostile work environment issue? I asked after why people left, what the boss' management style was like, what are the challenges that the team faces as well as its strengths, I looked at Glassdoor reviews, I looked up the boss' work history on LinkedIn (which really was a red flag that I ignored - she is 7 years out of college with a psych degree working at the executive level in legal contracts...nothing showing in her history that she has the background for that)... any other questions that would be good?

    Thank you again!

13. misskelleypMarch 27,2023 at 5:16PM UTC

    they should reverse the pay in the payroll system, you should not be liable to pay for the taxes, medicare, social security etc. if you don't get to keep the money, then you just write a check to the company for the net amount that you received (but make SURE that they've actually reversed it, for the taxes). Good luck, that sucks.

14. AnonymousMarch 27,2023 at 6:36PM UTC

    I think of your research before going to a company as this, look for the ant trail. Go to linkedin use the features therein to see attrition rates, go to blind and look at it too, look for trends and patterns and see who is leaving. Find someone in a smiliar role that might have left, ask why the role is open when you interview. Is it a replacement? If so find out why the person left. You may not get a direct response but if you find the person who left on LI you can ask them or perhaps probe. Generally doing this level of research will give you more clues than you got this time.

15. AnonymousMarch 28,2023 at 4:00PM UTC

    Employers lie - they want your expertise without care of your mental health. It has to be a great fit for them / not you….they could care less

16. AnonymousMarch 28,2023 at 6:03PM UTC

    Wow that is a very flat statement with really nothing behind it. Employers don't generally lie, if you don't do your due diligence and find out what the workplace is like before going somewhere you have blame for that. It's not an employers responsibility to take care of your mental health, that is exclusively yours. If you go to a workplace that is toxic yes, speak up and definitely if it crosses legal boundaries you should make a legal complaint to the proper authorities but to suggest that all employers lie is really not cool. As someone who employs many people I find your comment a rather inappropriate blanket statement.