Something For The Employers

First Issue, Job Market, March 2012 Magazine

HIRE FROM AMONG THESE 9 GROUPS

  1. Long-Term TANF Recipient*- Member of a family that: 1) received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (T ANF) payments for at least 18 consecutive months ending on the hiring date, or 2) received TANF payments for any 18 months beginning after August 5, 1997, and the earliest 18 month period ended during the past 2 years prior to the hiring date, or 3) whose family stopped being eligible for TANF payments because Federal or State law limited the maximum time those payments could be made, and the individual is hired not more than 2 years after such eligibility ended.

*Note. Based on the Internal Revenue Service’ s 2003 Revenue Ruling, members of these four groups (i.e., Veteran; Short and Long-Term TANF; and SNAP Recipient groups) need not receive the assistance/benefits period if the family received it for the entire period and the individual was on the grant and thus received such assistance benefits for at least one day of the specified period (see TEGL #: 20-04, March 18, 2005).

  1. Other TANF Recipient* — Member of a family that received TANF payments for any 9 months during the 18-month period ending on the hiring date.
  1. Veteran*- Member of a family that received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits (food stamps) for at least a 3-month period during the 15-month period ending on the hiring date, or a disabled veteran entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability hired within one year of discharge from active duty, or unemployed for a period totaling at least 6 months of the year ending on the hiring date.
  1. 18-39 Year-Old SNAP (Food Stamps) Recipient*- Member of a family that received SNAP benefits (food stamps) for either the 6-month period ending on the hiring date, or for at least 3 of the 5 months ending on the hiring date in the case of a family member who ceased to be eligible for such assistance under Section 6(o) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977.
  1. 18-39 Year-Old Designated Community Resident* — Individual who lives within an Empowerment Zone (EZ), or Rural Renewal County (RRC).


Note: P .L. 111-312 reauthorized each HUD- designated urban Empowerment Zone (EZ) and each USDA-designated rural EZ from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2011.

  1. 16-17 Year-Old Summer Youth – Individual who works for the employer between May 1 and September 15, and lives in an EZ*.
  1. Vocational Rehabilitation Referral – Disabled person referred to the employer upon completion of (or while receiving) rehabilitation services approved by the State, Ticket-to-Work Program, or the Department of Veteran Affairs.
  1. Ex-Felon – Individual convicted of a felony and hired within one year after the date of the conviction or release from prison.
  1. SSI Recipient – Individual who received Supplemental Security Income benefits for any month ending during the past 60-day period ending on the hiring date.

HOW TO FIGURE THE WOTC…

For most target groups, the WOTC can be as much as $2,400. It is based on qualified wages paid to the new hire for the first-year of employment. Generally, qualified wages are capped at $6,000. The credit is 25% of qualified first-year wages for those employed at least 120 hours and 40% for those employed 400 hours or more.

For Disabled Veterans, the WOTC can be as much as much as $4,800 with qualified wages capped at $12,000.

For Long-Term TANF Recipients, the tax credit can be as much as $9,000, with qualified wages capped at $10,000 for a combined 2-year period.

For Summer Youth, the WOTC can be as much as $750 during the 90-day period of employment with wages capped at $3,000.

For employers to qualify for the WOTC, the new hire must begin work after December 31, 2005 and before January 1, 2012. ?