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As people start to return to work there is a tax credit that has been around for years that you may be eligible to receive. The Workers Opportunity Tax Credit provides a tax credit to employers who hire individuals that are in one of the targeted groups. One of those groups is hiring an individual who has not been employed for at least 27 consecutive weeks at the time of hiring and received unemployment compensation during all or some of the unemployment period. Tax credits range from a minimum of $1,500 to a maximum of $9,600 per hire and there is no limit to the number of WOTC qualifying individuals an employer can hire.

To receive the credit employers must apply for and receive a certification verifying that the new hire is a member of a targeted group before they claim the tax credit. After the required certification is secured, taxable employers claim the WOTC as a general business credit against their income taxes. You will need to register for a WOTC account in the state you are located. Information for Oregon and Washington is below.

What do you need to do?

1. Add a question to your job application regarding if the individual has been unemployed for 27 weeks or more. You need to be able to prove that you knew about the potential WOTC before the candidate was offered the job.
2. IRS Form 8850 page 1 needs to be completed by the potential new hire on the day the job is offered.
3. If the new employee indicates potential WOTC eligibility on this form, complete page two.
4. Have the new hire complete ETA Form 9061 after they start.

5. Apply for certification using the information collected on the 8850 and 9061 within 28 days of the time the applicant starts work. You are required to keep copies of these forms in your records.
   1. Oregon – https://or.wotc-web.net/wa_login_emp.html
      1. If you do not have a WOTC account, click on New Employer Account Set-Up and fill out the registration.
   2. Washington – you must have a Secure Access Washington (SAW) account and a WOTC account.
      1. SAW – if you do not have an account, you can create one here – https://secureaccess.wa.gov/myAccess/saw/select.do
      2. Once your SAW account is created login to e-services at https://secure.esd.wa.gov/home/
      3. To create your WOTC account, navigate to the WOTC sign-in page. Select New Employer to create a WOTC account.

6. If you receive certification, please give the information to our office so we have it for your tax preparation.

If you have any questions, please let us know.