It’s a tight job market out there, and many employers are struggling to recruit and retain qualified employees to maintain operations. While tax pros can’t provide employees for their clients’ businesses, they can explain tax benefits like the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). This credit is designed to reward employers who hire long-term unemployment recipients or those who face employment challenges.
Exploring the Work Opportunity Tax Credit
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit isn’t new. Dating back to 1996, it encourages employers to hire individuals whose circumstances have historically presented barriers to employment by providing a credit for wages paid to qualified workers who start their position on or before Dec. 31, 2025.
The IRS identifies 10 groups who could qualify for the WOTC:
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients
- Unemployed veterans, including disabled veterans
- Formerly incarcerated individuals
- Designated community residents living in Empowerment Zones or Rural Renewal Counties
- Vocational rehabilitation referrals
- Summer youth employees living in Empowerment Zones
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients
- Long-term family assistance recipients
- Long-term unemployment recipients
To qualify as one of these 10 targeted groups, candidates must meet certain criteria. For example, long-term unemployment recipients are generally defined as those who have been out of work “for at least 27 consecutive weeks and received state or federal unemployment benefits during part or all of that time.”
How do employers determine if a hire qualifies for the WOTC?
To qualify for the WOTC, employers must complete Form 8850, Pre-Screening Notice and Certification Request for the Work Opportunity Credit with the job applicant on or before the day they make an offer of employment. Then, they must submit the form to their state workforce agency (SWA)—not the IRS—within 28 days after the eligible worker started the position.
The WOTC is claimed on Form 3800, General Business Credit, but it’s calculated based on the wages paid to new eligible workers during their first year on the job on Form 5884, Work Opportunity Credit. It’s important to note that this credit can only be claimed once for each new employee—rehires do not qualify.
Can tax-exempt organizations claim the WOTC?
Tax-exempt organizations cannot claim the WOTC for most new hires, with the exception of qualified veterans. Instead of Form 3800, tax exempt organizations instead use Form 5884-C, Work Opportunity Credit for Qualified Tax Exempt Organizations Hiring Qualified Veterans.
For more information, see the LB&I and SB/SE Joint Directive on the WOTC issued by the IRS to help employers who have been impacted by extended delays in the Work Opportunity Tax Credit certification process.
Source: IR-2022-104