Category: Tax Credits

The employment landscape in the United States is extremely complex, and not everyone has the same opportunity or capacity to find work that they’re happy with. According to Trading Economics, the US unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent in December 2022, matching the figures reported in September and July, which were the lowest since February 2020 — falling short of market estimates of 3.7 percent.

The most recent jobs report followed a sharp drop in weekly jobless claims to three-month lows and a smaller-than-expected drop in the number of job openings in November 2022, both of which indicated a still-tight and strong labor market and suggested that the US central bank would likely continue raising interest rates for some time. In December 2022, there were 717 thousand more people working, or 159.2 million people overall.

The unfortunate fact is that many people continue to face significant barriers to getting jobs. However, this is where the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) comes into play, which is federal tax credit the government provides to companies in exchange for hiring individuals from specifically targeted groups who have encountered barriers to secure employment.

What is WOTC?

WOTC stands for Work Opportunity Tax Credit. As defined by the U.S. Department of Labor, “the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a federal tax credit available to employers who invest in American job seekers who have consistently faced barriers to employment.”

In other words, employers can use the WOTC as a tax incentive to recruit and hire long-term unemployed candidates that are members of a WOTC target group. The WOTC program aims to support these people in becoming financially independent and reward employers who give them a chance to work and earn a living. Employers who recruit someone from a WOTC-specific population may do so in order to satisfy their business needs and receive a tax credit. Employers who hire WOTC-eligible people not only give them a chance to work but also get a grateful and loyal employee that tends stays longer. As a result, this creates a win-win situation for employers and, of course, for employees.

Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)

The Work Opportunity Tax Credit, also commonly known as the WOTC tax credit, is a federal business credit generally available to private, for-profit companies that hire individuals from certain categories who have trouble finding employment.

There are 10 WOTC target groups in total. Some of those include:

• Select Veterans
• Ex-felons
• Long-term unemployed individuals
• Members of households that receive select public assistance
• SSI Recipients

How Does WOTC Work for Employers?

Employers must administer a number of moving parts that are critical to claiming and earning the tax credit. At a high-level, employers must apply for and obtain a certification from the State Workforce Agency which confirms the new recruit is in fact a member of a WOTC target group. After obtaining the required certification, the credit is calculated based on the target group, hours worked and wages earned within their first year of employment. Taxable employers can deduct the WOTC credits from their income taxes as a general business credit, while tax-exempt businesses can deduct it from payroll taxes.

How Can Employers Find Job Candidates in WOTC Targeted Groups?

Employers can connect with qualified job seekers who could be in a WOTC target group with the aid of the American Job Centers and its partner organizations and initiatives. American Job Centers (AJCs) may help companies find qualified candidates, organize job fairs, carry out skills assessments, and support employees who are changing careers.

If a job seeker is a member of a WOTC targeted group, a state workforce agency (SWA) or collaborating source agency can make that determination. In some cases, the job-ready candidate is issued this pre-certification by the state agency to utilize in their employment pursuit. By notifying potential employers of the tax credit’s availability should they hire the person, the conditional certification acts as a public record of WOTC pre-certification. It also gives businesses a way to obtain a WOTC certification for the prospective employee.

Who is Qualified for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit?

Employers can hire individuals thanks to WOTC, but only from a select pool target group of applicants that the government permits. According to the Internal Revenue Service, here are the targeted groups that are qualified to be hired for WOTC:

• Qualified IV-A recipient: This is a member of a household that is getting assistance from a state program financed by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act (TANF).
• Qualified Veterans: Veterans who have had periods of unemployment totaling at least four weeks but fewer than six months within the 12-month period beginning on the date of employment. Veterans who were discharged or freed from active duty in the United States within one year of being eligible for benefits for a disability related to their service. Or veterans entitled to benefits for a handicap resulting from service, and have been jobless for at least six months.
• Qualified ex-felons: A candidate who was recruited within a year after either being found guilty or being released from jail for a crime.
• Designated Community Resident (DCR): A person who, as of the date of employment, is at least 18 years old, under 40, and whose primary home is in either a rural renewal county (RRC) or an empowerment zone (EZ).
• Vocational Rehabilitation Referral: An individual with a physical or mental disability who has been referred to the employer while getting or after completing treatment programs under a state plan authorized under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
• Qualified Summer Youth Employee: A person who lives in an empowerment zone and is at least 16 years old but under 18, and only works for the employer between May 1 and September 15.
• Qualified Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Benefits Recipient: A person who, as of the date of employment, is at least 18 years old, under 40, and a member of a family that received SNAP or other state assistance programs for at least three of the preceding five months or at least six months prior to the date of employment.
• Qualified Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Recipient: A person who received SSI benefits for any month that ended within the 60 days prior to the employment date.
• Long-Term Family Assistance Recipient: A person who, at the start of employment, was a part of a family that had received IV-A assistance for at least the previous 18 months in a row, or did receive it for at least 18 months starting after 8/5/1997 and it had not more than two years since the start of the earliest of those 18 months or had stopped receiving it because a federal or state law had limited the maximum credit amount of time they could receive it.
• Qualified Long-Term Unemployment Recipient: A person who, at the start of employment, had not worked for at least 27 weeks in a row but had also gotten unemployment benefits for some or all of that time.

The Amount of Credit

The WOTC amount varies by target group, but the bulk of the credit is comprised of 25 to 40 percent of the first $6,000 in earnings that are paid to within their first year of employment and works for the employer for at least 120 hours. They must also be certified as a member of a targeted group under the WOTC program. In this example, employers can earn a tax credit up to $2,400.

Those who work less than 400 hours or at least 120 hours for the company are paid at a rate of 25 percent. For select target groups, such as long-term unemployed and disabled veterans; the WOTC qualified wages increase from $6,000 to $24,000. Therefore, a company could get up to $9,600 in federal tax credits for such employees. As a result, the exact amount of tax credit will depend on the certification, hours worked and qualified wages earned.

How Do Employers Claim the Work Opportunity Tax Credit?

As a federal tax credit, the WOTC is constrained by the amount of Social Security taxes payable by the business or its income tax burden. Utilizing IRS Form 5884 and/or Form 3800, the employer can submit a claim for the credit as part of the yearly tax filing process. However, before the credit is earned, employers must file a Pre-Screening Notice, known as IRS Form 8850 within the employees first 28-days of employment with the state’s Workforce Agency. In response, the State Workforce Agency determines WOTC eligibility and will issue a certification to the employer for employees that meet WOTC eligibility. This is used to confirm that the employee actually belongs to one of the WOTC targeted categories and is also known as IRS Form 8850.

How Can Quentelle LLC Help?

Quentelle, a top-ranked HR service provider, offers a range of HR solutions supported by an award-winning technical platform. We deliver a streamlined solution proven to automate the administration of Work Opportunity Tax Credits, other point-of-hire credits, as well as verification of employment and unemployment insurance claims. If your company is looking to streamline WOTC, Quentelle has you covered — our WOTC solution will maximize your profitability and reduce your Federal tax liability with ease.

Here is how Quentelle LLC can help you with WOTC.

Tax Credits

The experts at Quentelle can assist you in maximizing and streamlining your point-of-hire tax credits by utilizing our integrated technological solutions. Any sort of employer can be eligible to claim the WOTC tax credit, regardless of the number of eligible employees in their workforce. This extends to certain tax-exempt employer claims made in the US in addition to taxable employer claims. Tax-exempt employers may only use the tax credit for payroll taxes, but taxable businesses may use it to offset income taxes (incurred on the wages paid to specifically targeted group employees).

Both the company and the job seeker are needed to complete two forms throughout the hiring procedure (IRS Pre-screening Form 8850 and DOLF Form 9061). This is to be done the day before or the day the employee’s job begins. If this form completion criterion is not met, you will not be qualified to receive the WOTC tax credit.

Quentelle provides you with a range of cutting-edge solutions, including process automation for WOTC tax credits. Automating all the intricate calculations allows us to maximize your tax benefits. We submit and track the necessary paperwork to make sure all important deadlines are met.

WOTC Reporting

As mentioned above, several key elements must be taken into account when deciding whether a new recruit qualifies for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). Among the many steps, employers must ensure that WOTC certified employees have in fact worked a minimum of 120 hours or 400 hours before earning and claiming the respective credit. Employers that use our solution, take advantage of our advanced reporting platform to automate the calculation as well as the quarterly and annual reporting of their WOTC credits.

Our platform not only helps employers to recruit people from specific target groups and categories, such as veterans, convicted felons, and food stamp beneficiaries who are eligible for the credit but also figures out the precise amount of tax credit you earn for each employee. Additionally, our platform leverages our proprietary algorithms to help you forecast your tax credits accurately and efficiently.

Verification of Employment

It goes without saying that the government and IRS have particular requirements and qualifications for who a company may hire in order to benefit maximum tax credit from the WOTC. Employers should be aware of their WOTC eligibility and ensure they hire a qualified candidate. Hiring the wrong so-called eligible employee may result in a bad investment and zero total tax credit and tax savings.

For these reasons, Quentelle will assist you in ensuring that your company hires the best applicant for each job post in order to maximize business performance and guarantee that the applicant is genuinely WOTC eligible. Quentelle offers a simplified solution that easily screens for Work Opportunity Tax Credits (WOTC) for new hires thanks to a relationship with Walton, a top supplier of employment tax credits.

By utilizing a quick, easy-to-use questionnaire during the recruiting or onboarding process at your business, Walton is able to ascertain your eligibility for tax credits and seek them on your behalf. We provide the best and most robust employment selections and Verification Processes in order to thoroughly assess a potential candidate’s employment history and determine if they fulfill the stringent requirements for WOTC employee qualification.

HR Analytics and Metrics

After making sure that the applicant is a qualified employee for the WOTC program, you want to ensure that they can operate in a way that will support the goals of the company. Employers must remain focused on selecting excellent employees instead of only focusing on WOTC-qualified candidates.

Quentelle provides an HR Analytics engine as a by-product of the multi-dimensional data collected and managed by our technological platform. We allow businesses that struggle to get access to important data in the realm of HR and workforce management in order to manage their hiring process efficiently and guarantee hiring with the best possible employee performance. Our platform makes use of artificial intelligence (AI) to gather, question, and examine vast volumes of data from applicants in order to find trends and patterns that enable businesses to hire employees that can operate efficiently — AI enables us to swiftly analyze enormous volumes of data and helps us find patterns that ordinary human intelligence is unable to recognize.

Contact Us!

Working with a trustworthy partner is extremely crucial given how essential WOTC is to both the company and the applicants — you will need a reliable and trusted partner that can help you meet the needs of your company, retain individuals, and help you achieve the company’s goals.

Quentelle is a leading HR services provider; we are aware that any successful firm has to have strong human resources. As a result, we provide a variety of HR solutions that are supported by a cutting-edge technological foundation. We offer a range of services, such as assessing candidates for Work Opportunity Tax Credits and other point-of-hire hiring tax credits, verifying employment and income, processing unemployment benefit claims, counseling on unemployment tax, and more. We also provide a partner-focused strategy that gives our customers the greatest experience possible.

If you’re looking for the finest HR solution available, look no further than Quentelle. You will have peace of mind knowing that you’re getting the most complete and user-friendly possible solution for your HR needs. Schedule a demo today and learn more about how our world-class solutions and services can help in recruiting the most qualified WOTC workers, which will help your business achieve greater success.

The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a federal tax credit provided to employers under the Internal Revenue Code, Section 51, which is administered jointly by the Department of Labor and the IRS. The purpose behind WOTC is to encourage employers to hire job seekers who are experiencing difficulties in finding employment. When an employer hires someone from the WOTC target group, they can claim this tax credit.

What Is the WOTC Program?

Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, the WOTC program has been authorized until December 31st, 2025. This means the tax credit for employers is available for wages paid to qualified workers that are employed on or before this date. To claim the credit, employers are required to apply for a certification to the designated workforce agency in their state, which will verify that the newly hired worker belongs to one of the targeted groups.

Once the taxable employer has obtained the necessary certification, they are eligible to claim the work opportunity tax credit as a general business credit. The credit will apply against the employer’s income taxes. Tax exempt employers claim the WOTC federal tax credit against their payroll tax.

A Brief History of the WOTC Program

The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) program was launched on October 1st, 1996 to give tax incentives to for-profit employers that would provide employment to qualified individuals from certain targeted groups with historically high rates of joblessness. In addition to the economic goals, the program had a goal to incentivize workplace diversity. Since the introduction of the program, the WOTC has been extended and modified a number of times. In 2006, a similar but separate credit for the recipients of long-term welfare was merged with the WOTC. The program expansions in recent years have led to the total cost of the WOTC to exceed $1 billion.

How Does WOTC Work?

How Much Is the Tax Credit for the WOTC Program?

In general, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit is equal to 40% of up to $6,000 of a qualified worker’s wages, or the wages incurred on their behalf. A qualified individual is someone who is:

• A certified member of one of the target groups.
• Currently in their first year of employment.
• Working for the employer to provide service for at least 400 hours.

At the rate of 40% for a maximum wage of $6,000, the maximum amount of tax credit is typically $2,400. For workers who perform services for at least 120 hours, but less than 400 hours, the applicable rate is 25%. For some qualified veterans, wages of up to $24,000 would be considered for calculating the WOTC.

If a worker has been re-hired, the employer may not claim the WOTC for them. Generally, the employer is allowed to carry the unused WOTC for the current year back one year and thereafter forward up to 20 years.

Who Qualifies for WOTC Credits?

The tax credit WOTC program is available to employers that are for-profit or tax-exempt as long as they hire job-seeking individuals (who consistently faced significant barriers to employment) from one or more of these 10 targeted groups:

• Qualified veterans
• Qualified veterans with disability
• Qualified veterans who are unemployed
• Qualified ex-felons
• Qualified recipients of TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) formerly known as AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children)
• Qualified recipients of vocational rehabilitation
• Qualified recipients of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), formerly known as Food Stamps
• Qualified recipients of SSI (Supplemental Security Income)
• Qualified recipients of long-time family assistance
• Qualified recipients of long-term unemployment

How Does My Business Participate in WOTC to Claim Tax Credits?

Taxable as well as specific tax-exempt employers of all sizes are eligible to participate in the WOTC program. Before an offer of employment is given (or on the day the offer is made), the job candidate as well as the employer are required to complete Form 8850, which constitutes a formal request to claim WOTC.

From the date the new employee begins work, the employer must submit Form 8850 within 28 days to the designated state agency’s local office (state workforce agency in the location where the employee works for the business). The Department of Labor may require additional forms to provide the certification.

Once the employer receives a certification from the local agency confirming that the employee belongs to one of the target groups, the taxable employer should complete Form 5884, while the employer who is tax-exempt will complete Form 5884-C to claim the WOTC.

Wages to Be Considered for Tax Credit

After a worker has been hired, it is important to determine the exact amount of wages that must be counted for WOTC for that worker. In order to qualify for the tax credit, the wages should have been paid in the worker’s first year of employment. Secondly, the worker should have completed at least 120 hours on the job during the first year. In other words, the employer must wait until a worker has accumulated 120 hours of work before filing for the credit.

All payments that the employer has made to the worker during the covered period can be included. The following aspects must be complied with:

The “wages” should be wages on which the employer has paid out federal unemployment tax. The business should have directly paid those wages. If the wages were paid by the business indirectly or were subsidized through a third party, those will not be considered towards the Work Opportunity Tax Credit.

If the worker has completed at least 120 hours on the job in the first year, the employer can claim WOTC of 25%. If they have worked for a minimum of 400 hours, the tax credit of 40% can be claimed. For all types of employee categories, there are different limits of maximum hours for which tax credit can be claimed.

It is noteworthy that the worker wages that have been used to determine eligibility for WOTC cannot also be used for calculating other types of worker tax credits, such as Medical Leave Credits, Paid Family and Medical Leave, Employee Retention Credit, or forgivable loan proceeds under the Paycheck Protection Program.

The Procedure to Apply for WOTC

After the employer has hired an employee, and received a letter from the workforce agency in the state confirming that the employee qualifies, the employer can claim WOTC by submitting an IRS form depending on the type of business. The form to be completed and submitted is as follows:

• IRS Form 5884: If the employer’s firm is a partnership, trust, S corporation, estate or cooperative, they should submit this form.
• IRS Form 3800: All other business owners and taxpayer employers may submit this General Business Credit form.

To complete this form, the employer must calculate the cumulative wages of qualified employees, based on their employee category and the number of hours worked. This figure should be multiplied by the total number of hours an employee has worked during the year. Thereafter, the appropriate percentage (25% or 40%) must be applied to the final figure. The complete form will be added to the employer’s tax return to compute their individual or business income tax liability.

WOTC Screening

Employers use the WOTC screening process to determine whether a potential new employee may qualify for inclusion in their tax credit calculations. They will consider whether the potential hire belongs to the qualifying category of employees and, in any case, after getting hired the employee should be able to meet the requirements for the minimum number of hours worked.

The job applicant and the employer must complete and submit Form 8850, which is the state workforce agency’s pre-screening form. In addition, Form 9061 from the Department of Labor must be submitted in order to be eligible for the federal tax credit. Once the state workforce agency determines that the worker is qualified, the next step for the employer is to apply for the tax credits to the IRS.

The Impact of WOTC on Business Taxes

Businesses can apply the WOTC to their tax liability for the particular year, along with any other tax credits. The credits must be applied in a specific order. The appropriate tax form to be submitted for claiming the WOTC will depend on the type of business. “Pass-through businesses” where the business profit or loss is passed through to the business owner should include the WOTC application on Form 1040. The maximum amount of tax credit under the WOTC program is limited to the amount of income tax liability of a business or the Social Security tax owed.

How Does the WOTC Affect the Employee?

Employees that qualify under the WOTC program do not receive any financial benefit for being a part of a special category. However, the potential incentive for the employers improves their chances of getting hired. For every qualified employee, the employer may stand to gain a tax credit of anywhere between $1,500 and $9,600. This may be a significant reason for an employer to hire candidates under the WOTC program.

Advantages of WOTC for Employers

Reduction in Federal Income Tax Liability

By making use of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit benefits, an employer can lower their company’s federal tax liability by a substantial extent, or even eliminate it entirely in some cases. However, it’s crucial to remember that the amount of tax credits cannot exceed the total amount of income tax liability of the business.

If the employer does not have any income tax liability, they may still apply for the WOTC. Unused tax credits are allowed to be carried back 12 months as well as carried forward for up to 20 years on future tax returns. This means the employer can use their tax credits at a future date, once they have a corporate income tax liability.

Reduction in the federal tax liability can significantly bring down the costs of doing business for an employer. The savings achieved through the WOTC program could be utilized for business expansion or to finance the company’s core business operations.

Improvement in Cash Flow and Profits

By some estimates, an employee hired under the WOTC program can help boost the business profitability by up to 80% when compared to an equivalent non-qualified employee. With a lower tax bill, the company’s cash flow can improve and there can be a positive impact on the company’s profitability bottom line.

No Restriction on the Number of WOTC-Qualified Workers

The WOTC program imposes no limits on the number of qualified employees that an employer can hire for the purpose of gaining tax credits. No matter whether a company hires 5 or 500 eligible workers, their WOTC tax credits will continue to accumulate and strengthen the financial position of the business.

Large Number of Candidates Are Potentially Eligible

Even if a business has never participated in the federal WOTC program before, there is a fairly high probability that they already have employees or may hire new candidates that qualify under this program. In general, about one in five new employees are eligible for this tax credit in most industries. The qualifying rate may be even higher in certain industries.

The Department of Labor data shows that in 2018, the number of new hires under the WOTC program was 5.6 million. Consider the average rate of WOTC eligibility of about 20%, it amounts to nearly $2.5 billion in tax credits for that period that taxable employers could claim.

Businesses Should Recognize the Benefits of Participating in WOTC Program

According to market analysts, less than 50% of eligible employers participate in state or federal incentive programs, such as Work Opportunity Tax Credit. Although the pandemic increased the trend of companies taking advantage of government-backed initiatives to support business, many companies continue to miss out on the potential leverage they can gain from tax credit programs such as WOTC.

Lack of knowledge as well as lack of experience are two primary reasons why companies across all geographical locations may be lagging behind in participation in these programs. At the top management level, many business decision makers express unawareness about whether their company is utilizing the tax incentives such as WOTC. Some business owners say that they are unsure whether their company qualifies for these benefits. This reflects a significant lack of awareness that results in missed opportunities for qualifying businesses.

While at the outset, it may appear that the WOTC program involves complicated procedures to take advantage of the tax incentives, the advancements in automation and customization of services by firms such as Quentelle have made it much easier and faster. When companies team up with Quentelle to maximize their WOTC advantage, it will likely improve their profits consistently year after year.

It is worth it for companies to check through their HR departments to find out whether they qualify for WOTC benefits. An appointment with one of the knowledgeable team members at Quentelle can help business decision makers – including managers, CEOs and business owners – understand how technology can make the WOTC process simplified, compliant, and cost-effective. The message from Quentelle is clear – no business should miss out on tax credits just because they did not seek the professional opinion from a specialist.

How to Increase Employer Participation in WOTC with Quentelle?

From an employer’s perspective, maximizing WOTC benefits can be a time-consuming process. To stay compliant and to make the most of the program, the employers are required to deal with a number of challenges, including completing thorough paperwork, keeping diligent records, monitoring wages and hours worked, meeting the state agency deadlines, preparing meticulous documentation to support the WOTC claims, and accurately computing and recording the tax credits.

To complete this entire administrative process in-house, the employer may have to allocate considerable time, resources, and talent. Employers are often reluctant because getting involved in this process may distract their teams from the core business activities. However, there is a practical solution to avoid the complexities related to WOTC tax credit handling, and stop losing out on significant tax credit benefits.

By partnering with Quentelle, employers can relieve their in-house HR teams from the burden of WOTC administration and streamline the complete process using Quentelle’s automated platform. This enables an employer to maximize their legitimate tax credit opportunities without compromising their core business activity and without increasing their staff or administrative expenses.

The Quentelle platform not only speeds up the process to ensure the state agency submission deadlines are always met, it also improves the accuracy of information and documentation to ensure full compliance with the federal and state WOTC regulations. Make Quentelle a seamless part of your WOTC tax credit process, and improve your bottom line, while redirecting your own team’s energies towards more productive and creative business operations.

Partner with Quentelle to Boost Your Profits and Productivity

Quentelle, in conjunction with the leading tax credits specialist Walton, has created a win-win for employers to maximize their tax credits, while diversifying their workforce by hiring employees that qualify for the WOTC program. Employers who otherwise might be reluctant to hire workers from certain eligible categories for various reasons can have the opportunity to gain in tax credits when they utilize the benefits of WOTC by teaming up with Quentelle.

Many employers are increasing their profitability and cash flow and saving millions of dollars in business tax liability by participating in the WOTC program. At the same time, providing employment to eligible workers from the disadvantaged categories helps strengthen the company’s value system and work culture, improves employee morale, and bolsters the company’s reputation as a socially responsible organization.

With the cutting-edge digital platform technology from Quentelle, WOTC is no longer a paper intensive, cumbersome, and time-consuming process for employers. Quentelle’s advanced solutions from Walton have simplified the entire process, while making it faster and more accurate at the same time. By partnering with Quentelle, a business can leverage the excellent WOTC benefits and improve their productivity, profitability, and cash flow.

Overcome the Hurdles to WOTC Benefits with Quentelle

Is your organization missing out on potential WOTC benefits because it is unwilling to commit in-house resources to this tedious and resource intensive process? Let Quentelle help you make the most of your rightful WOTC opportunity, while freeing up your resources and talent from the onerous responsibilities of filling out and submitting forms within deadlines, preparing support documentation and records, and ensuring compliance with the law.

Considering that the IRS only gives you 28 days for the submission of the required documentation, traditional labor-intensive approaches to WOTC administration can prove to be costly and error-ridden. In particular, when your company is hiring a large number of new workers, completing and tracking the WOTC paper trails can be even more daunting. This is where Quentelle, in partnership with Walton, is helping employers replace their manual in-house WOTC process with its automated platform service.

Quentelle’s professional support and service for WOTC tax credits begins with the introduction of a small questionnaire as part of the hiring process to identify all the eligible candidates. The automated screening and onboarding process with the digital platform capabilities of Quentelle lets your company eliminate the burden of in-house identification and processing of tax credits. This reduces the demands of time and effort on your HR teams, while ensuring that your business enjoys maximum tax credit benefits.

Let Quentelle Turn WOTC to Your Business Advantage

Ever since the WOTC program came into existence in 1996, it has continually evolved and gained acceptance as a useful tool to promote more equitable job creation, while rewarding employers for their participation in this endeavor. Companies of any size can be eligible to receive Work Opportunity Tax Credits. There is no cap on how much an organization may earn by way of WOTC, as long as it does not exceed their income tax liability.

Employers that were hesitant in the past to make use of this federal government-backed incentive because of the administrative hurdles involved are now joining hands with Quentelle to make the most of the WOTC program. With Quentelle’s digital platform and automation of the WOTC process, you no longer have to worry about missed tax credits, high error rates, delays in submission of forms and documents, and dissatisfied HR staff burdened with a manual process.

With the platform capabilities of Quentelle to streamline the administrative WOTC process, it is easy to efficiently capture and maximize tax credits where you are eligible while staying compliant with the ever-changing regulatory requirements. When you partner with Quentelle, your organization will begin to generate significant tax savings, which you can channel to more productive areas of your business to gain a durable competitive advantage.

Here are some of the key benefits of automating the WOTC tax credit process with Quentelle:

Cost Reduction

When you perform the administrative tasks related to WOTC tax credits in-house, you have to hire skilled staff dedicated to perform this process. This can significantly increase your HR expenses. On the other hand, when you move your tax credit management and handling responsibilities to Quentelle, you get access to industry-leading technology, streamlined business processes, and significantly lower costs.

This is possible because the experienced professionals backed by the automation platform capabilities of Quentelle can perform the same tasks much faster, more accurately, and at a lower cost to your organization. Moreover, you will also save money because you no longer have to make continued investments in updating and maintaining the internal infrastructure needed to carry out the same tasks in-house.

Higher Speed and Accuracy

With the cutting-edge digital systems of Quentelle along with a team of trained professionals, the time taken to complete forms and paperwork, prepare support documents, and track and store employee data is substantially cut down. When the entire WOTC process is handled in-house using traditional methods, it becomes far more time-consuming, taking away the focus and attention of your teams that could otherwise have been utilized for core business activities.

When employers try to cut down the time spent on the tax credit process in-house, it is likely to cause higher dissatisfaction among the responsible HR teams. At the same time, the risk of errors increases when there are tight deadlines to be met. With Quentelle, you get the advantage of speed combined with accuracy. The automated system makes the manual and repetitive processes much faster, while the trained WOTC experts minimize the chances of errors because they are updated with the latest changes in regulations and stay current with the process.

Customized and Reliable Services

As a customer-centric platform, Quentelle is committed to helping your organization meet its unique requirements related to tax credits and other peripheral items. It has the agility and flexibility to tailor its services and adjust them to your changing business needs. This flexible approach lets you utilize Quentelle’s services based on your current organizational demands. This provides you superior cost efficiency to achieve maximum financial benefit.

Reliability is one of the high points when you choose a top-rated platform such as Quentelle. The company follows industry best practices and has put in place robust systems to enable timely communication and reporting, and to deliver fast, secure, and satisfactory outcomes for all customer requests. Because the teams at Quentelle are specialized in the tasks they perform, they can ensure high-quality performance and full compliance with the regulatory requirements.

What Does WOTC Mean for My Company’s Human Resources Infrastructure?

The WOTC program is valuable for any eligible employer not just because it can help improve the business bottom line, but also because it bolsters the company’s human resources infrastructure and its reputation as a responsible employer. Used correctly, WOTC has the potential to strengthen the objectives of inclusion and workplace diversity in a business organization.

Employee morale is often higher in organizations where people are hired from the widest possible cross-section of the available talent pool. Worker turnover rates are reduced and productivity per employee is likely to improve in these organizations. Moreover, when the employer includes a WOTC survey as part of their application process, the HR team can gain better insights into the opportunities for diversity and multiple skill sets and experiences that may be available.

What Should I Look for in an HR Platform that Integrates WOTC Functionality?

As an employer, you need a proven and established service provider with an advanced HR platform that fully integrates WOTC functionality. The integration will streamline your HR process, minimize the scope for errors, and deliver faster and more cost-effective results. Choose an HR platform that is intuitive, user-friendly, and is designed to make the WOTC integration incredibly simple.

Top-Rated WOTC Solution Provider

Quentelle, through its partnership with a leading employment tax credits provider Walton, provides a streamlined solution that makes the task of screening Work Opportunity Tax Credits easy and efficient. When you administer a short, but proven questionnaire as part of your organization’s process of hiring or onboarding, it enables Walton to quickly and accurately determine eligibility and pursue WOTC and other tax credits for your business.

Simplified Screening, Unmatched Results

Quentelle makes the screening process simple by leveraging the power of Walton. Walton utilizes a number of integrations with dedicated Applicant Tracking, Job On-Boarding, and Payroll Taxes service providers. This gives Walton the ability to automate the WOTC screening process and deliver a fast and friendly user experience while optimizing results. With support from Quentelle and the cutting-edge solutions from Walton, you can increase your tax savings, ease the workload of your team, and strengthen your human resources infrastructure.

Partner with Quentelle for Winning HR Tech Solutions

Is your company spending too much time and effort trying to navigate the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)? Let Quentelle do the heavy lifting for you and help you achieve superior operational efficiency in multiple HR tasks with our award-winning technology platform. A growing number of companies are choosing Quentelle’s suite of proven and innovative solutions. To schedule a demo, call us at (888) 565-5515 or simply fill out this online contact form and we will respond as soon as possible.

Running your own business comes with a wide range of decisions to make. Many of these decisions will be based on costs and savings. Fortunately, there are certain tax incentive programs for employers that can help you to save money in the long run. Though it is possible that these tax incentive programs require certain actions that you may already be doing, you simply may not realize you could be taking advantage of additional savings. Certain tax credits allow you to invest funds elsewhere, such as increasing employee salary and benefits or updating equipment. Here are four tax incentive programs for employers every employer should be aware of:

Employer Social Security and Medicare Taxes

If you are a company that has employees who receive tips, this one’s for you. Certain food and beverage establishments pay Medicare and Social Security taxes on tips that employees receive. As such, your business might be able to claim this as an income tax credit. It will cover the part of the employer’s Medicare taxes and Social Security taxes that you pay. Do not let this tax incentive program pass you by as it can benefit your business and save you money; money that can be used to grow your business.

The IRS explains this as the ‘FICA tip credit’, also called the “45 B Tax Credit”. This is reported to the IRS via IRS form 8846. You can learn more about this tax credit here.

Work Opportunity Tax Credit

There are certain targeted groups that can earn your company a lucrative tax credit under the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) program. These targeted groups include:

• SNAP Recipients
• TANF Recipients
• Qualified Veterans
• Ex-Felons
• Designated Community Residents
• Vocational-Rehabilitation Referrals
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Recipients
• Summer Youth Hires (ages 16-17)
• Qualified Long-Term Unemployed Recipients

This list includes a fairly large amount of people and you may have already hired someone from these groups, without knowing. The credit amount ranges from $1,500 to $9,600 and depends largely on the target group the individual is certified under as well as the hours worked within their first year of employment.

Energy Tax Incentives

When you make your business more energy-efficient, not only can this help the environment and save you money on your energy bills; it can also qualify you for a tax credit. There are tax incentive programs for making energy-saving improvements as well as buying energy-efficient appliances. Some improvements that can fall under energy tax incentives include:

• Solar water heaters
• Fuel cell equipment
• Solar panels
• Wind turbines

Energy efficiency is constantly changing and it is important to stay up to date with the latest tax incentive programs for employers.

Disabled Access Credit

As equality and access continue to be implemented into our day-to-day lives, many businesses are doing what they can to help. When you have a storefront or public access for customers, you want to make sure everyone can maneuver in and out easily. All business owners also need to think about access and comfort for your employees. Making changes to guarantee accessibility for people with disabilities can make you eligible for the Disabled Access Credit. This is a one-time tax credit for small businesses that incur bills for providing access to disabled persons. You can claim each year that there are expenditures for disabled access.

How Quentelle Can Help Your Business

Tax credits are instrumental tools that can lower your business tax liability.  Depending on which tax incentive programs your business qualifies for, you may end up paying very little in taxes at the end of the year. This will help you invest additional funds to grow your business. Quentelle has experience delivering proven tax credit planning. Contact us online or give us a call at 888-565-5515 today.