ETA Advisory File
ETA Advisory
ETA Advisory File Text
EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION ADVISORY SYSTEM U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Washington D.C. 20210 CLASSIFICATION WOTC CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL OWI DATE June 23 2023 RESCISSIONS None EXPIRATION DATE Continuing ADVISORY TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 22-22TO STATE WORKFORCE ADMINISTRATORS STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES STATE WORKFORCE LIAISONS STATE AND LOCAL WORKFORCE BOARDS AND CHAIRS AMERICAN JOB CENTERS WORK OPPORTUNITY TAX CREDIT STATE COORDINATORS FROM BRENT PARTON s Acting Assistant Secretary SUBJECT Work Opportunity Tax Credit WOTC Information Collection Revised Forms 1. Purpose. This Training and Employment Guidance Letter TEGL informs State Workforce Agencies SWA partnering agencies employers and other stakeholders of the Office of Management and Budget OMB approval of the extension with revisions of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit WOTC information collection under OMB Control number 1205- 0371. Additionally this TEGL provides clarification on the use of ETA Form 9198 Employer Representative Declaration Form for employers to authorize a third-party representative to act on their behalf to manage WOTC certification requests. 2. Summary and Background. a.Summa ry The WOTC information collection consists of administrative processing and reporting forms which are used by program participants. In accordance with Paperwork Reduction Act PRA requirements the Employment and Training Administration ETA published a Request for Comment Notice in the Federal Register for the proposed extension with revisions of the WOTC information collection before submitting the package to OMB for approval. ETA received a total of 83 comments during the 60-day public comment period which were taken into consideration for the revisions made to ETA Forms 9058 9061 9062 9063 9065 9175 and 9198. The OMB approval of this information collection is effective through May 31 2026. All reporti ng and processing forms are available on ETA s website at https www.dol.gov agencies eta wotc. b. Background The WOTC is a Federal tax credit available to employers for hiring from certain categories of workers targeted groups who have consistently faced significant barrie rs to employment. The WOTC is set forth under section 51 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as amended 26 U.S.C. 51 and is effective until 2 December 31 2025 under the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 Pub. L. 116 - 260 Division EE Title I Subtitle B Section 113. The U.S. Departments of Labor and Treasury jointly administer t he WOTC. Treasury through the Internal Revenue Service IRS administers all tax -related provisions and requirements of the tax credit. Labor through ETA oversees the administration of the WOTC certification process including the allotment of grant funding to SWAs develop ing procedural guidance and provi ding technical assistance and training to WOTC stakeholders . 3. Action Requested . SWAs participating agencies and employers and their representatives are encouraged to start using the OMB -app roved versions of the revised ETA forms as soon as possible effective May 31 2023. The forms are available on the ETA WOTC website at https www.dol.gov agencies eta wotc . ETA requests that SWAs make available the OMB - approved forms on their respective WOTC websites portals and distribute this information with related program staff employers and th eir representatives participating agencies and other interested partners. SWAs must make the revised ETA forms used to submit WOTC certification requests available to employers and other participants by October 1 2023 . Additional information on this t ransition period is detailed below in section 4e of this TEGL. 4. Details . a. SWAs partner agencies employers and their representatives and job seekers should continue to use the following WOTC processing administrative and reporting forms which have not changed in description of purpose WOTC Processing Forms . Employers and jobseekers complete the WOTC processing forms and submit them to the appropriate SWA for processing . SWAs complete a three -step application review process which includes forms intake verification and notifications. ETA Form 9061 Individual Characteristics Form ICF . Note The Spanish - ETA Form 9061 is available for translation purposes only. ETA Form 9062 Conditional Certification CC . ETA Form 9175 Self -Attestation Form SAF for Qualified Long -Term Unemploym ent Recipient LTUR . WOTC Reporting Forms . Reporting forms are used quarterly by ETA grantees SWAs . SWAs must report fiscal expenditures using ETA Form 9130 and program activities using ETA Form 9058 . Note ETA Form 9130 used for financial reporting is covered under a separate OMB Control No. ETA Form 9058 WOTC Report 1 Certification Workload and Characteristics of Certified Individuals . 3 WOTC Administrative Forms . WOTC administrative forms are used by SWAs and employers or their authorized representatives if applicable for recordkeeping purposes . ETA Form 9063 Employer Certification . This form is not available online . ETA Form 9065 Agency Declaration of Verification Results ADVR Worksheet . ETA Form 9198 Employer Representative Declaration Form . Note ETA Form 9198 is a new form approved under this information collection request and was not under the prior OMB approval through March 31 2023. b. OMB Approval of Several New WOTC Forms . ETA Forms 9061 9062 9063 9065 9175 and 9058 which had previously been approved by OMB for use through March 31 20 23 are now approved for use under the PRA of 1995 under OMB Control No. 1205 -0371 for an additional three -year period through May 31 2026 . ETA Form 9198 is also approved by OMB fo r use through May 31 202 6. The U.S. Department of Labor notes that a Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information nor is the public required to respond to a collection of information unless it is approved by OMB under the PRA a nd displays a currently valid OMB control number 44 U.S.C. 3507 . Also notwithstanding any other provision of law no person shall be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if the collection of information does not display a currently valid OMB control number 44 U.S.C. 3512 . c. Revi sed Forms and Instructions . Program participants employers job seekers SWAs and partner agencies should use the newly approved ETA Forms to submit and process WOTC certification requests effective May 31 2023 . If employers submit expired ETA forms March 31 2023 expiration date after June 1 2023 SWAs should accept and process those forms in adherence to TEGL 16 -20 Work Opportunity Tax Credit WOTC Procedural Guidance or the applicable ETA Advisory in effe ct at the time of certification request review. The WOTC processing reporting and administrative forms have been updated to reflect general grammatical syntax and or formatting revisions. The corresponding form instructions were also updated to remove outdated policy guidance statutes or expired provisions of the tax credit. Many of the form adjustmen ts were minimal and non -substantive in nature reformatted in a user -friendly style. Examples given ETA received numerous requests to update the date -of -birth format mm dd yyyy and include the applicant s full social security number across all requir ed WOTC forms . ETA also considered and incorporated substantive changes to the ICR in response to public comments received during the 60 -day public comment period . Specific form revisions are as follows ETA Form 9061 Revised form 9061 includes a formatting design update which more clearly separates the sections for different targeted groups and simplifies the eligibility statements 4 questions for the job applicant employer to complete. A field was added to provide space for multiple states in res ponse to questions pertaining to where public welfare benefits were received. This addition will help states easily identify when certification requests need to be verified by other SWAs and or participating agencies. ETA Form 9062 Revised Form 9062 inc ludes minor formatting updates to make a better distinction between the respondent employer versus job applicant sections. ETA Form 9175 Revised Form 9175 includes minor formatting updates to clearly identify th at th e job applicant not the employer is self -attest ing to their period s of unemployment. ETA Form 9063 Revised Form 9063 includes minor stylistic updates including slight syntax edits to clearly identify the information being collected for the employer and employee . ETA Form 9058 Revis ed Form 9058 includes updates to the reporting fields completed by the SWA. For program activity the revised form will capture the number of out -of-state certification requests received by the SWA reasons for denials issued by the SWA and updated hou rly wage brackets to track overall impact across higher income levels. Revised instructions reflect the new added fields for SWA input and output workload activities. SWAs will use the revised form for fiscal year 2024 reporting. ETA Form 9065 Revised Form 9065 includes stylistic formatting updates which more clearly identify the type of information being requested of the SWA . The form instructions include details on how SWAs should complete any necessary follow -up activities such as notices o f invalidations for invalid certifications issues as a result of quarterly audits per TEGL 16 -20 guidance. ETA Form 9198 ETA Form 9198 replaces the use of IRS Form 2848 Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative for employers to authorize an individual to represent them for WOTC purposes. ETA will provide additional technical assistance to SWAs on form instructions . IRS Form 8850 IRS Form 8850 Pre -Screening Notice and Certification Request for the WOTC and its Instructions are available online at https www.irs.gov forms -pubs about -form - 8850 . IRS Form 8850 has been authorized by OMB for use through June 30 2025 . Note IRS Form 8850 is under OMB Control No. 1545 -1500 and not a part of ETA s WOTC information collection. Employers and their representatives are encouraged 5 to visit the IRS website https ww w.irs.gov forms -pubs about -form -8850 for additional information . d. General Instructions . Although electronic and facsimile submission of WOTC Forms is permitted not all states are equipped to accept an electronic or faxed copy of documents . Employers should confirm acceptable submission methods with the SWA prior to form submission. Forms with an electronic e - signature image or digitized image o f a handwritten signature may only be used if the employer s system satisfies the requirements in IRS Ann. 2002 -44 2002 -1 C.B. 809. Guidance on acceptable electronic e - signature methods is provided in IRS Notice 2012 -13 2012 - 9 I.R.B. 421 available at https www.irs.gov pub irs -drop n -12 -13.pdf . e. Transition Period for State Workforce Agencies and Employers . To ensure the smooth and uninterrupted submission of employers certification requests for their new hires ETA is granting a transition period that allows employers to continue to submit applications using the old ETA Forms 9061 9062 9175 expiration da te March 31 2023 for a temporary period. SWAs participating agencies employers and their representatives are encouraged to start using the recently OMB -approved versions of the revised ETA forms as soon as possible including ETA Form 9198 . Use of the revised ETA forms OMB expiration date May 31 2026 will be required to submit certification request s to SWAs for new hire s effective October 1 2023 . After that date employers should not submit olde r expired versions of ETA Forms 906 1 9062 and or 9175 . During the transition period SWAs must permit employers to continue to use either the old March 2023 or the revised May 2026 versions of ETA Forms 9061 9062 and 9175 . Additionally SWAs should work to update their internal WOTC management systems including employer authorized representative management systems to reflect changes to the revised ETA Forms and make these forms available to employers participating agenc ies and other stakeholders by the end of the 90 -day transition period. f. Guidance for Use of and Transition Period for ETA Form 9198 . Under TEGL 16 -20 Work Opportunity Tax Credit WOTC Procedural Guidance available at https www.dol.gov agencies eta advisories training -and -employment -guidance - letter -no -16 -20 employer s may author ize an individual to represent them for WOTC purposes by submitting an IRS Form 2848 Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative to the SWA in which the employer s business is located . ETA recognize d the concerns raised by SWAs and employers and their representative s regarding IRS Form 2848 instructions and its applicability to WOTC and through this information collection request ETA developed Form 9198 Employer Representative Declaration Form for employers to authorize a represe ntative s to facilitate the WOTC certification request process on their behalf. ETA Form 9198 will replace the use of IRS Form 2848 for employers to authorize representation under WOTC effective June 1 2024. The current expiration date of IRS Form 2848 is May 31 2024 OMB Control No. 1545 -0150 . 6 ETA recognizes that employers may have current authorizations IRS Form 2848 on file with the SWA that have an effective years or period end date that extends beyond May 31 2024. However in an effort t o transition from the use of IRS Form 2848 to ETA Form 9198 for employer representative declarations ETA will update WOTC procedural guidance TEGL 16 -20 to advise employers that effective June 1 2024 use of IRS Form 2848 to authorize employer represen tatives under WOTC will be discontinued. As a result all IRS Form 2848 authorizations will automatically terminate on June 1 2024 regardless of the Years or Periods end date indicated in section 3 of the Form. SWAs may continue to recognize the effe ctive period end date listed if the date falls on or before May 31 2024. SWAs should update their employer representative management systems and or processes to terminate all IRS Form 2848 employer authorizations effective June 1 2024. Effective this date employers must use ETA Form 9198 to re authorize employer representatives. Employers may use and SWAs may accept ETA Form 9198 effective immediately. SWAs should begin to update their internal controls and processes to manage employer repre sentative authorizations using ETA Form 9198 and work with employers and other stakeholders to assist in transition from use of IRS Form 2848 to ETA Form 9198 effective the publication date of this TEGL . ETA Form 9198 does not constitute a formal power of attorney arrangement between the employer and its representative but it will allow the representative to conduct authorized WOTC activities as listed in the Authorized Representatives section of TEGL 16 -20 . In general formal power of attorney designations should not be required for employer representatives to conduct WOTC business with the SWAs and ETA discourages SWAs from imposing additional requirements for documenting employer representative declarations beyond th e requirements listed in ETA s procedural guidance. As such ETA will issue updated procedural guidance for the WOTC certification process including how SWAs will manag e employer representative declarations using ETA Form 9198 in TEGL 16 -20 Change 1. ETA Form 9198 provides information to employers on how to authorize an individual s to represent them during the WOTC certification process including how an employer may authorize multiple representatives according to ETA Form 9198 Instructions and WOTC recordkeeping requirements listed in TEGL 16 -20 . There are specific instructions for SWAs to note for the use of ETA Form 9198 as follows Line 1. Employer Information . The employer identification number EIN listed on Form 9198 must be a tax -identification number that is registered in the state where the employer s business is located and WOTC certification requests are submitted . Employers should verify with the SWA that the appropriate EIN is provided consi stently across IRS Form 8850 and ETA Forms 9198 and or 9061 as applicable. Line 2. Representative s . SWAs are required to send notices and communications to a minimum of two 2 Employer Representatives with the same organization as designated in Line 2. SWAs may choose to allow employers to list additional 7 representatives as an appendix to Form 9198. See Form Instructions page 4 for additional details. Line 3. Acts Authorized . Representative s shall have the authority to perform the act ivities described on pages 1 -2 of Form 9198 with respect to the WOTC certification process . These activities include the authority to complete and sign IRS Form 8850 and related ETA Forms on behalf of the employer and substitute or add representative s within the same company under a valid authorization form. Line 3. Acts Authorized . The A uthorization period listed cannot exceed five 5 years and will automatically terminate on the applicable end date unless revoked or withdrawn earlier by either party. The designation of Year s or Period s cannot be retroactive from the signature date of the employer declaration. Employers may not specify years or periods that have ended as of the effective date of the authorization. Note the date the Employer signs the declaration form Line 5 is the effective date of the authorization . Line 4. Retention Revocation of Prior Authorization . The filing of an Employer Representative Declaration Form will not automatically revoke prior authorizations on file with the SWA for the same matters and years or periods cove red by th e form. Employers must check the applicable box on page 2 and attach a copy of any prior authorization s to be revoked if the employer want s to revoke prior authorizations . 5. Inquiries . Please direct inquiries to the appropriate Regional WOTC Coordinator listed on the WOTC website at https www.dol.gov agencies eta wotc contact regional -offices . 6. References . Section 51 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as amended https usc ode.house.gov view.xhtml path prelim title26 subtitleA chapter1 subchapt erA part4 subpartF edition prelim Pub. L. 11 6-260 Consolidated Appropriations Act of 202 1 https www.congress.gov 116 plaws publ260 PLAW -116publ260.pdf Pub. L. 104 -13 Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 https www.congress.gov 104 plaws publ13 PLAW -104publ13.pdf Federal Register Notice 87 FR 69048 Agency Information Collection Activities Comment Request Work Opportunity Tax Credit November 17 2022 https www.federalregister.gov documents 2022 11 17 2022 -25037 agency - information -collection -activities -comment -request -work -opportunity -tax -credit and Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 16-20 Work Opportunity Tax Credit WOTC Procedural Guidance https www.dol.gov agencies eta advisories training - and -employment -guidance -letter -no -16 -20 . 7. Attachment s . Attachment I ETA Form 9061 Individual Characteristics Form ICF Attachment II ETA Form 9062 Conditional Certification CC Attachment III ETA Form 9175 Self -Attestation Form SAF for Qualified Long -Term Unemployment Recipient LTUR 8 Attachment IV ETA Form 9198 Employer Representative Declaration Form Attachment V ETA Form 9065 Agency Declaration of Verification Results ADVR Wo rksheet Attachment VI ETA Form 9058 WOTC Report 1 Certification Workload and Characteristics of Certified Individuals