Empowerment
Zone Employment Credits
The
Empowerment Zone Employment Credit was established to provide
businesses located in a targeted area with an incentive to hire
individuals who both live and work in one of these targeted
areas.
The
Empowerment Zone Credit is a 20% credit on the first $15,000 of
wages per eligible employee each year for a maximum annual
credit per employee of $3,000. Unlike WOTC, the Empowerment Zone
Credit can be claimed each year an individual is employed.
To qualify
for an Empowerment Zone Credit, an individual does not need to
work a minimum number of hours, but instead, they must be
employed for at least 90 calendar days.
Employees who
are certified for WOTC can still qualify for the Empowerment
Zone Credit, however WOTC will reduce the maximum wages for each
of these credits by the amount of wages that are used to
calculate their WOTC credit.
By taking
advantage of both credits, a new hire who is certified for WOTC
as an Unemployed Disabled Veteran can earn a tax credit of up to
$9,600 during their first year of employment, and up to $3,000 a
year for each year thereafter.
