Activate WOTC Tax Savings Today!
Built right into HR Cloud

WOTC (pronounced “Watt-See”) stands for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. It’s a part of the federal tax code that allows employers to earn valuable tax credits when they hire individuals from certain target groups—helping businesses save money while expanding job opportunities. Most employers already make qualifying hires but miss out on the tax benefits unless they screen for them.

WOTC can generate significant tax savings for employers—often thousands of dollars per eligible hire. To qualify, eligibility information must be collected from new employees on or before the day they receive their job offer. HR Cloud makes this seamless. Through its Onboard service, employers can activate webWOTC™ by WOTC Planet, a ready-to-use WOTC survey task. Once enabled, it becomes an automatic part of the hiring process—no extra systems, no added hassle.

WOTC applies to individuals from certain “target groups” that Congress has identified as needing extra support to gain employment. These include veterans, recipients of SNAP or TANF benefits, long-term unemployed individuals, and several others. Most employers already hire eligible people without realizing those hires could have qualified them for valuable tax credits.

The value of the credit depends on why the employee qualifies, hours worked, and wages earned. Credits can be as high as $9,600 per qualified hire, with many hires qualifying for $2,400 or more. For employers with steady hiring, these credits can add up to tens of thousands of dollars—often more—each year.

To claim the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, a new hire’s eligibility must first be certified by the state workforce agency. Once certification is received, the employer can claim the credit on their federal tax return.

With webWOTC™ inside HR Cloud’s Onboard service, this process is almost entirely automated. WOTC Planet manages everything—from evaluating employee information and filing applications, to tracking certifications, calculating credits, and reporting results to employers and their accountants. For employers, it’s essentially 99% hands-off, ensuring valuable tax credits are captured without added work or disruption.

It’s simple. Just ask your HR Cloud representative to activate the webWOTC™ feature for your account. Once enabled, the WOTC survey task becomes part of your onboarding process automatically. Your HR Cloud representative will also connect you with a friendly WOTC Planet representative to complete a brief service agreement and a bit of simple paperwork—so everything is ready to run smoothly.

No. For the employee, it’s just a short survey included in the normal hiring and onboarding flow. For the employer, everything happens behind the scenes—no extra systems to learn, no disruption to the hiring process.

If no credits are earned, there’s no cost for the service. However, most employers already do hire eligible employees—often without realizing it. Each year, many of these hires would qualify for WOTC, but the tax credits go unclaimed unless screening is in place. That’s why having webWOTC™ active inside HR Cloud is so valuable.

Most employers see the benefit at tax time. For taxable companies, WOTC is applied when filing federal income tax returns. For nonprofits that hire qualified veterans, it’s claimed through a refund of payroll taxes already paid.

The good news: employers don’t need to manage the complicated tax steps themselves. WOTC Planet tracks certifications, calculates the credits, and provides the necessary reports to your tax professionals. From the employer’s perspective, the process is nearly hands-free—ensuring credits are captured without adding extra work.

WOTC Planet’s services come at no risk to you. Our fee is simply a small percentage of the tax credits we help secure for your company. If no credits are earned, there’s no fee.