Don’t miss out on the tax incentives available when hiring.
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a federal income tax credit program designed to encourage companies to hire individuals in specific areas or from specific groups of people. The groups include:
- Members of families that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (food stamps)
- Members of families that receive short- or long-term Temporary Assistance to Needy Families or Aid to Families with Dependent Children (welfare)
- Qualified (unemployed or disabled) veterans
- Qualified ex-felons or pardoned, paroled, or work-release individuals
- Individuals who have completed or are completing vocational rehabilitation programs
- Qualified “summer youth” ages 16 or 17 years old living in an empowerment zone
- Individuals receiving Supplemental Security Income
- Residents of designated communities (individuals living within an empowerment zone)
- Individuals who were unemployed for at least 27 consecutive weeks and received unemployment compensation under state or federal law during this period
Because the hiring process can be extremely time sensitive, it’s easy to miss tax incentive opportunities. By partnering with tax specialists with workers opportunity tax credit experience, businesses benefit from a process that allows for the identification of eligible hires and allows the business to gain a valuable employee and maximize applicable tax incentives. Contact us to learn more about WOTC benefits, our work opportunity tax credit calculation and more.
Featured Thought Leader
Craig A. Cookle, CPA
With over 28 years of experience, Craig serves as the leader of Wipfli's State and Local Tax service. Prior to joining Wipfli in 2005, Craig was the director of the Wisconsin sales and use tax practice of a national accounting firm. Prior to that, he was a field auditor with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. This knowledge and experience enable him to consistently provide value to his clients in terms of state and local tax savings and efficient resolution of state audits.
