The credit was given at a rate of 6.2 percent of earned income up to a maximum of $400 for individuals or $800 for married taxpayers.
Withholding formulas directed employers to increase take-home pay immediately without action from employees.
Workers with multiple jobs, or unemployed, had the option to delay receiving the credit and receive instead a lump sum (all $400 to $800 at once) calculated on the tax return filed in the following year.
Reconciling the credit required filing Schedule M with the Form 1040 personal income tax return.
The policy concept behind the Making Work Pay tax credit was to stimulate consumer spending, implemented as part of President Barack Obama's stimulus package in 2009.