IRS Extends Work Opportunity Tax Credit Program Deadline

HILLSBOROUGH, N.J. (08/09/2016)—The IRS has extended the date to file for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) Program to September 28, 2016. WOTC is a program that allows companies to get a tax credit for hiring individuals from certain targeted groups as defined by the Federal Government.

In an unprecedented move, due to the delay of Congress reauthorizing the expired program, the IRS is allowing employers to file applications on eligible employees hired between January 1, 2015 and August 31, 2016. According to industry standards, 10 percent of these employees will qualify for the program. Due to the fact that these employees in many instances have worked more than a year, they will have hit the maximum credit allowed of $2,400 (for 8 of 10 categories—two additional categories earn higher amounts of credits) for each qualifying person. On average, the credits will approximate $2,000 for each qualifying person.

“This is an overlooked opportunity for companies to claim a tax refund if they have filed their 2015 return or reduce their tax burden if they haven’t. We ask our clients to estimate the amount of credit they can expect by taking the number of active employees hired since January 1, 2015 and multiply that number by $200 (10 percent qualify for $2,000 each on average). For minimal effort in most cases, this money is easy to collect and every company has the opportunity to reduce its 2015 tax burden by a significant amount,” said Ken Brice, president of employerincentives.com

For more information on the WOTC visit the Department of Labor website.

Visit employerincentives.com for more information.