 Internal Revenue Service, IRS Tax News, IRS Updates Information on Tax Credit Helping Businesses to Hire Certain Categories of Workers. Oh no, here we go again with the categorization of people, categorizing people and making laws based on arbitrary categories being a government obsession these days. Let me guess, let me guess, when compared to the general population, department stores have a shortage in representation of convicted kleptomaniacs. The IRS is like, can you believe it? Those poor kleptos, you bigots. We demand you hire more certified kleptomaniacs into the position of counting inventory. And once hired, the kleptomaniac may not be arrested for stealing because that's insensitive. I mean, can't you see they have a condition that's outside of their control? And it's like, well yeah, IRS, that's why I wasn't going to hire them into the position of counting inventory. And the IRS is like, oh my gosh, there you go again. You bigot. In any case, first attempt at a joke. My cousins are just like two peas in a pod. Two sloppy peas in a pod. They really want their own place. Well, if he's moving in, I'm moving out. I mean, you think living with two people in a studio is bad? You think it's bad? The first three months of my life, there was a newspaper strike. Try sharing the space of a little pod. But the women here aren't comfortable sharing a bathroom with... Those dang peas hate each other. With what? With what? I mean, when you can hear the peas through the pod, exclaiming to each other, living with you is worse than being eaten by a giant monster. I'd rather be murdered. That's when you know the veggies. They're ripe for picking. They're ripe. IR 2022-159, September 19, 2022, Washington. The IRS today updated information on the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, the WOTC. There's a link to that here available to employers to hire designated categories of workers who face significant barriers to employment. For employers facing a tight job market, the WOTC may be able to help. Today's updates include information on the pre-screening and certification process to satisfy the requirement to pre-screen a job applicant or on or before the day a job offer is made. A pre-screening notice, that's going to be Form 8850, pre-screening notice and certification request for the Work Opportunity Credit. There's a link to that here. Must be completed by the job applicant and the employer. The targeted jobs tax credit, that's the TJTC, which preceded the new WOTC, did not contain a pre-screening requirement. So you might not be familiar with this, even if you've done similar kind of processes in the past because of the update with the WOTC from the TJTC. So in acting WOTC to replace the TJTC in 1996, Congress included the requirement that employers pre-screen job applicants before or on the same day the job offer is made. In doing so, Congress emphasized that the WOTC is designed to incentivize the hiring and employment of certain categories of workers. So obviously you would think that you'd have to make sure or have some kind of proof in essence that they fall into those categories, for example, to get a benefit. So after pre-screening a job applicant, the employer must then request certification by submitting Form 8850, there's a link to that here, to the appropriate state workforce agency no later than 28 days after the employee begins work. Other requirements and further details can be found in the instructions, there's a link to that here to Form 8850. WOTC has 10 designated categories of workers, the 10 categories are qualified IVA temporary assistance for needy families, TANF recipients, certain veterans including unemployed or disabled veterans, the formerly incarcerated or those previously convicted of a felony designated community residence living in empowerment zones or rural renewal counties, vocational rehabilitation referrals, summer youth employees living in empowerment zones, food stamps, SNAP recipients, supplemental security income SSI recipients, long-term family assistance recipients, qualified long-term unemployment recipients. Although the credit generally is not available to tax exempt organizations, a special provision allows them to claim the WOTC against the employer's share of social security tax for hiring qualified veterans. These organizations claim the credit on Form 5884C, work opportunity credit for qualified tax exempt organizations hiring qualified veterans, there's a link to that here, you can visit the WOTC page for more information, there's a link to that here so you can get updated on this and see if it might be something that would be appropriate and fit in with your hiring process and so there'll be links to all this here, there'll be a link to this in the description.