COVID-19 Will Pass, Be Prepared
Hello friends,
These are unexpected and difficult days. You’re very fortunate if Covid-19 has not disrupted your job or your workplace to some degree. Our office is experiencing the same kind of challenges.
Many people are working from home. If that’s an option in your industry, it’s a great blessing. These circumstances are forcing many of us to learn new ways to get it all done. When the Covid-19 contingencies are over, some industries will almost certainly choose to continue the work-from-home trend.
For now, however, many enterprises have little choice but to lay off workers. Millions of people are (at least temporarily) losing their jobs. It’s painful. It’s scary. But don’t lose hope because . . .
(more…)
- Published in Work Opportunity Tax Credit
DOL Accepting Comments for Revising WOTC Forms – Let Your Comments Be Heard!
If you’ve ever struggled through completing Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) forms with an employee, you have surely also thought, “There must be a simpler way.” Maybe you’ve even had a good idea for making it better. Now is the time to make your voice and opinions heard!
The U.S. Department of Labor is now accepting public comments for revising a variety of WOTC-related forms.
(more…)
- Published in Work Opportunity Tax Credit
Tax Extenders Are In! WOTC (and beer) Made the List!
Photography by Magda Ehlers.
After a long weekend and late nights of negotiations, Congress has agreed upon an end-of-year tax package that includes long-awaited tax extenders.
The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019 extends the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (aka WOTC) another year, through December 31, 2020. Empowerment Zone tax benefits, which expired in 2017, have been retroactively renewed for 2018, 2019, and 2020.
A few additional renewed tax incentives that may interest our readers include:
(more…)
- Published in Work Opportunity Tax Credit
Veterans Back to Work Act of 2019 Would Make WOTC Permanent
Last week on November 21, Republican Representative Ron Wright of Texas introduced H.R.5250 to the House Ways and Means Committee. H.R.5250 is the Veterans Back to Work Act of 2019
(more…)
- Published in Work Opportunity Tax Credit
It’s Time for Congress to Reauthorize WOTC
Maybe you’ve heard that the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (aka WOTC) is slated to expire on December 31, 2019. And that makes you nervous.
But should it?
Forty years of productive history suggest that WOTC will still be around for years to come.
WOTC is part of the U.S. tax code. Like dozens of similar code provisions, Congress wrote it in a way that requires them to revisit the program from time to time. The upcoming expiration date signals that the moment has arrived again.
Has it happened before? Yes. Many times.
(more…)
- Published in Work Opportunity Tax Credit
Is Something Valuable Missing from Your Hiring Checklist?
Most human resources departments use a checklist when hiring new employees. Lists are so important, whether they are printed on paper or managed electronically by a paperless onboarding system. Lists help us to consistently and fairly walk new workers through a litany of important tasks.
Unfortunately, most employers have missed something valuable on their hiring checklist and it’s costing money every year.
Is it missing from yours?
- Published in Marketplace Partner, Work Opportunity Tax Credit
WOTC Popping Up in Unexpected Places
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) has received a lot of attention from legislators this year. A report recently released by the Senate Finance Committee’s Employment and Community Development Taskforce outlined a total of 16 bills, all introduced in the current Congress. Each would either expand, increase, or extend the WOTC program.
Yesterday, Senator Corry Booker (D, NJ) and Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) introduced yet another bill. More correctly, the Federal Jobs Guarantee Development Act was re-introduced yesterday, since Senator Booker originally presented this bill to the previous Congress on April 25, 2018.
- Published in Work Opportunity Tax Credit
Disappointment? – WOTC Consensus Missing from Task Force Report
The Senate Finance Committee’s Employment and Community Development Taskforce has finally released its report. Unfortunately, the consensus about WOTC subtly mentioned earlier this month by Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) is absent from the document. But that’s not all bad. Perhaps we need to read between the lines.
Download the report here.
Per the report, the group was tasked to examine the following six tax incentive programs:
(more…)
- Published in Work Opportunity Tax Credit
The Future of WOTC – Senate Task Force Reaches Consensus
The Senate Finance Committee released the first 3 of 6 reports investigating the status and future of numerous federal tax incentive programs.
According to an article published by Bloomberg on Tuesday, “Two of the reports released, on energy and individual tax provisions, didn’t reach definitive conclusions, indicating either weak support or divided opinion for some of those provisions.”
You can download those reports here: (energy) and (individual)
What About WOTC?
- Published in Work Opportunity Tax Credit
Iowa’s Special Tax Benefit Helps Ex-offenders and Small Employers
Photography by Suzy Hazelwood.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 10,000 former prisoners are released every week across America. They need jobs. In fact, the Prison Policy Initiative reports that 2 years after release, more than 30% are still unemployed.
Gratefully, the State of Iowa offers a special tax benefit to small businesses that hire ex-felons residing in that state. In addition to the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), Iowa small businesses can receive a tax deduction of up to $20,000 per qualifying hire. Since this is a deduction (not a tax credit), the actual tax effect depends on the business’ tax rate.
(more…)
- Published in Work Opportunity Tax Credit