WORK OPPORTUNITY TAX CREDIT
 
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a federal income tax
Credit that encourages you to hire eight targeted groups of job seekers.
The WOTC can reduce your federal tax liability by as much as
$2,400 per new hire. This employer tax incentive joins other employment
Programs and tax credit initiatives aimed at helping American
Workers and increasing American productivity and economic growth.
 
The new hire must belong to one of eight WOTC target groups:

• Welfare recipients
• 18-24 year-old food stamp recipients
• Veterans
• Vocational rehabilitation referrals
• 16-17 year-old residents of Empowerment Zones or Enterprise
• Communities hired as “Summer Youth Employees”
• 18-24 year-old residents of Empowerment Zones or Enterprise
• Communities
• Ex-felons or work-release inmates from low-income families
• Recipients of Supplemental Security Income benefits
• The WOTC for new hires employed 400 or more hours is 40% of
• qualified wages for the first year of employment; the credit for new
• Hires employed 120 to 400 hours are 25%. Qualified wages are capped
• at $6,000 for all WOTC target groups except Summer Youth, whose
• Wages are capped at $3,000.