Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
For more information, please contact Jack Sprince at 617 626-5730 or Email at JSprince@detma.org
How tax credits work
If you are a "for-profit" employer in Massachusetts, you may be eligible for a federal tax credit through the Work Opportunity Tax Credit program. There are nine targeted groups. Individuals must be identified as members of one of these targeted groups before a job offer is made.
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) program has two purposes:
- To help individuals who qualify as members of a target group to get a job, and
- To help employers who hire qualified individuals by giving them a credit on their federal taxes.
Target Groups
- A member of a family that is receiving or has received Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC) benefits or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) for any 9 months during the 18-month period that ends on the hiring date.
- A veteran who is a member of a family that is receiving or has recently received food stamps and certain qualified disabled veterans.
- A recently released ex-felon.
- An 18 to 39 year old resident of one of the 105 federally designated Empowerment Zone/Renewal Communities.
- A vocational rehabilitation referral who completed or is completing rehabilitative services from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, an Employment Network, or the U.S. Department of Veterans Services.
- A 16 to 17 year old Empowerment Zone/Renewal Community resident hired between May 1 and September 15 as a Summer Youth Employee.
- An 18 to 39 year old member of a family that is receiving or has recently received food stamps.
- A recipient of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.
- A long term family assistance recipient.
Amount of the credit
The WOTC credit can potentially be as much as:
- $2,400 for each new adult hire;
- $4,800 for each new disabled veteran hire;
- $1,200 for each new summer youth hire; and
- $9,000 for each new long-term family assistance recipient hired (this is claimed over a two-year retention period)
Employment Duration
The person hired must be employed for at least 120 hours.
Cooperating Agencies
If you want to hire a member of one of the targeted groups, you may want to contact one of these agencies:
If you want to hire a member of one of the targeted groups, you may want to contact one of these agencies:
- Department of Mental Health
- Department of Transitional Assistance
- Department of Mental Retardation
- Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission
- Department of Corrections
- Commission for the Blind
- Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
- Department of Veterans Services
- Commonwealth of Massachusetts One-Stop Career Centers