Work Opportunity Tax Credit
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a Federal tax credit incentive that Congress provides to employers for hiring individuals from certain target groups who have consistently faced significant barriers to employment. The main objective of this program is to enable the targeted employees to gradually move from economic dependency into self-sufficiency as they earn a steady income and become contributing taxpayers, while participating employers are compensated by being able to reduce their federal income tax liability. WOTC joins other workforce programs that help incentivize workplace diversity and facilitate access to good jobs for American workers.
On November 21, 2011, President Obama signed into law the Vow to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, which amends and expands the definition of WOTC's Veteran target groups. For information on the new changes and provisions click, open and print any or all of the following documents:
- Summary of WOTC provisions in the Vow to Hire Heroes Act
- Interim instructions for state workforce agencies and employers
- IRS Notice 2012-13 on VOW Act Provisions
The legislative authority for the WOTC program's non-veteran groups expired on December 31, 2011. Given that the non-veteran groups may be reauthorized based on legislative history for WOTC, employers may still submit certification requests to State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) for these groups. SWAs will accept but not issue final determinations until WOTC is reauthorized.
- TEGL No. 15-11- Provides Guidance for states on authorization lapse for non-veteran target groups
- WOTC Program Fact Sheet
- WOTC Veterans' Brochure for Employers
- WOTC Program Brochure for Employers
- Directories of Regional and State WOTC Coordinators
- ETA Handbook 408, 3rd., Ed., November 2002
- ETA Handbook 408, 3rd., Ed., August 2009 Addendum
WOTC's Outreach Toolkit provides the following publications with a plain-English overview of the program:
The 3rd., Edition of ETA Handbook No. 408 for the WOTC Program, published on November 2002 and its August 2009 Addendum, provide additional information on this program:
MISROUTED MAIL...EMPLOYERS and CONSULTANTS: Your certification requests for each new employee hired must be sent to your State Workforce Agency not to the Department of Labor (DOL) in Washington, D.C. Beginning July 2012 all misrouted certification requests received in DOL will be sent back to the employer or consultant. For an e-copy of the WOTC State Coordinators' Directory, visit WOTC's website at: http://www.doleta.gov/business/incentives/opptax/State_Contacts.cfm
