While you will find a lot of info on how much tax credit you can ultimately receive for each vet you hire to fill a job opening, there isn’t much on how to actually apply for it. My aim is to tackle that in this post. I must, however, inform you that I am not a CPA, a tax law lawyer, or work for the IRS so please defer any questions that you may have to them.

Three Things To Keep In Mind

• The credit expires at the end of 2012. Tax credit will be given for any qualified veteran hired between November 22nd and December 31st, 2012.
• There is no time limit on when a qualifying veteran has retired. As long as they have been unemployed for just 4 weeks they qualify.
• Qualified Tax exempt organizations can also take advantage, including non-profits.

Also, there is no limit on the number of veterans you can hire in order to take advantage of this tax credit, you can hire 1 or a dozen! The IRS will even allow you to carry the tax credit back a year or forward 20 years.

So, Whats The Process?

If you found the veteran through your State Workforce Agency (SWA), complete the employers portion of:

1. Conditional Certification, Work Opportunity Tax Credit, ETA Form 9062, and the
2. Pre-Screening Notice and Certification Request for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, Form 8850

If you found the veteran through any other means, complete the employers portion of:

1. Individual Characteristics Form (ICF) Work Opportunity Tax Credit Form 9061, and the
2. Pre-Screening Notice and Certification Request for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, Form 8850

If the veteran was found through the SWA then their veteran status may have already been verified. You will be provided, either by  the SWA or the applicant, a copy of the Conditional Certification, Work Opportunity Tax Credit, ETA Form 9062. All that is required of you is to fill out the employer section. After which, both forms (the 9062 and the 8850) must be sent back to the SWA no later than 28 days after hire. If all information can be verified then you will receive a WOTC Employer Certification Form for that vet.

If you found the vet by any other means then you can still request veteran status by filling out the ICF Work Opportunity Tax Credit Form 9061, collecting a copy of the required documentation (you’ll find it on the form) from the veteran, and providing it and the Form 8850 to your SWA for verification (again no later than 28 days).

Something To Keep In Mind

Form 9061 must be voluntary because prospective employees are not required to supply the information. A simple way around this is to present this document to all prospective employees. If you are concerned that you cannot ask this information of someone until an offer of employment is made, know that the Office of Federal Contracts Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has proposed that employers ask applicants to self-identify as a veteran and/or a person with a disability upon applying for a job.

For More Information on this topic, which this post borrows heavily from, please check out Lisa Rossers blog at http://blog.thevalueofaveteran.com)