Employee Referral Bonus Program (ERBP)

Many of you might have heard about the Employee Referral Bonus Program (ERBP) and would like to take advantage of receiving extra cash. As with many programs, before signing up, you always want to make sure you read the fine print.

To be eligible for an ERBP award, referring employees must meet the following criteria:

  1. Be a covered employee and not fall into any of the exclusions
  2. Be on the IRS’ rolls when the candidate is referred, as of the candidate’s entrance on duty (EOD), and at the time the award is made
  3. Must clear the misconduct and tax compliance screening prior to the payment of the award.
  4. Must have referred an individual who is not considered a relative

A referring employee who retires prior to the candidate’s EOD will still be eligible for the ERBP award, so long as the referring employee was employed by the IRS on the date the candidate submitted their application.

You will only get a referral bonus if you refer someone into a “hard-to-fill” position. Hard-to-fill positions are those the IRS is having difficulty recruiting candidates for without incentive. The IRS defines hard to fill positions as positions that the Agency is having difficulty recruiting competent and qualified candidates for without offering incentives.

Once you refer someone into one of these hard-to-fill positions, you will receive an ERBP award in the amount of $500. You will receive the first $250 on the referred employee’s six-month anniversary, and the second $250 on that person’s one-year anniversary with the Agency.

If you choose to refer someone or would like more information, a list of the current designated hard-to-fill positions is available on the ERBP SharePoint Application. The site also has information on how to make a referral and provide a list of approved hard-to-fill positions. Angela Moore