This credit has been extended to 2025 to assist businesses facing a tight job market.
This long-standing tax benefit encourages employers to hire workers certified as members of any of ten targeted groups facing barriers to employment. With millions of people out of work at one time or another since the pandemic began, the IRS realizes that one of these targeted groups will be long-term unemployment recipients.
The 10 groups are:
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families recipients
- Qualified unemployed veterans, including disabled veterans
- Formerly incarcerated individuals
- Designated community residents living in Empowerment Zones or Rural Renewal Counties
- Vocational rehabilitation referrals
- Summer youth employees living in Empowerment Zones
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients
- Supplemental Security Income recipients
- Long-term family assistance recipients
- Long-term unemployment recipients
Certification requirement
To qualify for the credit, an employer must first request certification by submitting IRS Form 8850, Pre-screening Notice and Certification Request for the Work Opportunity Credit, to their state workforce agency. Employers should not submit this form to the IRS.