Work Opportunity Tax Credit
A Modernized WOTC Experience
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development has launched its modernized WOTC system, featuring enhanced security, faster data sharing, and powerful features designed to improve the user experience. This new system streamlines processes and improves performance, better serving employers and partners. View the webinar below for an overview of the system’s new and improved functionality for other state workforce agencies.
State Workforce Agencies (SWA) FAQs
The new portal will go live on 2/23/2026; however, our agency will only grant access to the portal after completing a provided user agreement. If you have not received a user agreement by 2/23/2026, please reach out us at wotc.info@tn.gov.
The Social Security Number and hire date are all that will be required.
The quickest resolution would be to resubmit the request. The new system will not be available to fulfill any outstanding requests that were made prior to the old system going offline. If the request has already been made, and data was provided by TN WOTC, we may be able to access that data and share with you. Contact the WOTC State Coordinator at wotc.info@tn.gov for assistance on this.
We do not currently support that functionality, but it may be something that will be available in the future.
The passwords in the previous system were encrypted so they could not be converted. You will need to use your (.gov) email to log in and then request a new password.
This upgrade only affects the State of TN portal, not other state portals.
Once the new system is fully functional, the system should be able to provide an immediate response for all applicable Target
Groups.
User guides are being developed for all our Partners with links being posted on the website as soon as possible.
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) Program is designed to assist individuals from certain targeted groups who have consistently faced significant employment barriers with re/entering the labor force. The program does so by providing federal tax credit incentives to employers for hiring these individuals.
WOTC helps targeted workers move from economic dependency into self-sufficiency as they earn a steady income and become contributing taxpayers, while participating employers simultaneously reduce their income tax liability.
About the Work Opportunity Tax Credit
The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (PATH Act) retroactively allows eligible employers to claim the WOTC for all targeted group employee categories that were in effect prior to the enactment of the PATH Act, if the individual began or begins work for the employer after December 31, 2014, and before January 1, 2020. For tax-exempt employers, the PATH Act retroactively allows them to claim the WOTC for qualified veterans who begin work for the employer after December 31, 2014, and before January 1, 2020. (The maximum tax credit ranges from $1,200 to $9,600, depending on the qualified targeted group hired.)
The PATH Act also added a new targeted group category to include qualified long-term unemployment recipients.
A qualified long-term unemployment recipient is any individual who is in a period of unemployment on the day before beginning work for the employer, or, if earlier, the day the individual completes Form 8850, Pre-Screening Notice and Certification Request for the Work Opportunity Credit. A period of unemployment is defined as being
- no less than 27 weeks and
- includes a period (which may be less than 27 weeks) in which the individual received unemployment compensation under State or Federal law.
Eligibility
An employer must hire an employee who is certified as being a member of a WOTC qualified targeted group. Then the State WOTC Coordinator for the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development must certify the job applicant is a member of a WOTC qualified targeted group. Lastly, an employer must obtain certification that the individual is a member of a WOTC qualified targeted group in order to claim the credit.
This information is provided as a general program guide only and is subject to change without notice from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development as the legislative authority is amended. The U.S. Department of Treasury, through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), has administrative responsibility for the tax provisions of the credit (Section 51, of the Internal Revenue Code).
How to Apply for the Tax Credit
All employers must complete the IRS Form 8850 (Instructions) and USDOL Form ETA 9061 for new hires. Employers will be the responsible legal forms holder. Once the employer obtains the 8850 and 9061 information, please submit the info via our online application system within 28 days of the employee start date. You may access the online application on the WOTC Portal.
Additional inquiries may be directed to the WOTC unit at 844-216-8495 or WOTC.INFO@tn.gov.
| Federal Resources |
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| U.S. Department of Labor WOTC |