WOTC Extended and Relief Credits Expanded 

WOTC Extended Through 2025

The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) requires legislative authority granted by a Congressional vote. The program was set to expire on December 31, 2020. However, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which extended the WOTC program through December 31, 2025. Equifax contributed to this effort by helping our clients share WOTC insights and differentiated data with key senators and members of Congress. This type of enhanced advocacy is just one part of the value Equifax delivers on a daily basis. In addition to the WOTC extension, several other tax saving programs were also extended and expanded to include:

• A one-year extension of the Indian Employment Credit
• A five-year extension of Empowerment Zones through 2025
• An extended and enhanced Employee Retention Credit, which:
  • Increases the credit from 50% to 70% 
  • Allows a credit against $10,000 for each quarter (versus only one quarter in previous legislation)
  • Increases the 100-employee delineation from 100 to 500. Employers who qualify for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans may still qualify for the Employee Retention Credit with respect to wages that are not paid for with forgiven PPP proceeds. 

Disaster Relief Tax Credits Extended

Employers also have additional time to take advantage of the 2019 Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Relief Act. Congress extended this program to include all of 2020. It allows qualifying businesses to receive up to $2,400 per eligible employee for wages paid while the business was located in a disaster zone. The credit applies to wages paid regardless of whether services associated with those wages are performed. Equifax can help you with your disaster tax credits without burdening your team by helping you better:

1. Identify -  We help determine qualifying locations in which your business operated.
2. Evaluate - We help identify timeframes of inoperability and interruptions due to qualifying disasters.
3. Calculate - We help calculate the tax credit amount for which you likely qualify.
4. Report - We provide a packet with what you need to help claim your disaster relief credits come tax season.

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Tax Credits Plus Reduced Turnover

If your organization isn’t currently taking advantage of the WOTC program, now is a great time to start. WOTC is a valuable tool to help you increase your organization’s income through hiring. But did you know there are several other benefits, including helping to reduce turnover? You can learn more about how you can take advantage of these and other benefit. Additionally, you can find best practices to help make the WOTC process easy and effortless in our white paper, Dual Value of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit.