Instructions For Form 8850 - 2006 printable pdf download

Department of the Treasury

Instructions for Form 8850

Internal Revenue Service

(Rev. January 2006)

Pre-Screening Notice and Certification Request for the Work Opportunity and

Welfare-to-Work Credits

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

areas). The employer is not required to ask employees to

General Instructions

furnish any documentary evidence.

What’s New

Who Should Complete and Sign the

•

The work opportunity credit and the welfare-to-work

Form

credit are now allowed for qualified individuals who begin

work for you before January 1, 2006.

The job applicant gives information to the employer on or

before the day a job offer is made. This information is

These credits may be extended with respect to

entered on Form 8850. Based on the applicant’s

employees who began work for you after

TIP

information, the employer determines whether or not he

December 31, 2005. See What’s Hot in Tax

or she believes the applicant is a member of a targeted

Forms, Pubs, and Other Tax Products at

group (as defined under Members of Targeted Groups)

formspubs to find out if the credits have been extended.

or a long-term family assistance recipient (as defined

•

The Katrina Emergency Relief Act of 2005 added a

under Welfare-to-Work Job Applicants). If the employer

new targeted group, Hurricane Katrina employee,

believes the applicant is a member of a targeted group or

identified as group 9.

a long-term family assistance recipient, the employer

completes the rest of the form no later than the day the

Purpose of Form

job offer is made. Both the job applicant and the

employer must sign Form 8850 no later than the date for

Employers use Form 8850 to pre-screen and to make a

submitting the form to the SESA.

written request to a state employment security agency

(SESA) (unless the employee checks only the Hurricane

Katrina employee box) to certify an individual as:

•

A member of a targeted group for purposes of

Instructions for Employer

qualifying for the work opportunity credit or

•

A long-term family assistance recipient for purposes of

When and Where To File

qualifying for the welfare-to-work credit.

Do not file Form 8850 with the Internal Revenue Service.

Submitting Form 8850 to the SESA (unless the

Instead, if required, file it with the work opportunity tax

employee checks only the Hurricane Katrina employee

credit (WOTC) coordinator for your SESA no later than

box) is but one step in the process of qualifying for the

the 21st day after the job applicant begins work for you.

work opportunity credit or the welfare-to-work credit. The

Although electronic filing of Form 8850 is permitted, at

SESA must certify the job applicant is a member of a

the time these instructions were published, no state was

targeted group or is a long-term family assistance

equipped to receive Form 8850 electronically. See

recipient. After starting work, the employee must meet

Announcement 2002-44 for details. You can find

the minimum number-of-hours-worked requirement for

Announcement 2002-44 on page 809 of Internal

the work opportunity credit or the minimum

Revenue Bulletin 2002-17 at pub/irs-irbs/

number-of-hours, number-of-days requirement for the

irb02-17.pdf.

welfare-to-work credit. The employer may elect to take

the applicable credit by filing Form 5884, Work

To get the name, address, phone and fax numbers,

Opportunity Credit, or Form 8861, Welfare-to-Work

and email address of the WOTC coordinator for your

Credit.

SESA, visit the Department of Labor Employment and

Training Administration (ETA) web site at

The certification requirements described above do

not apply to Hurricane Katrina employees. For an

employer of a Hurricane Katrina employee, this

CAUTION

Never include Form 8850 with a tax return or

form is used to accept reasonable evidence that the

otherwise send it to the IRS, regardless of the

worker is a Hurricane Katrina employee. It is the

employee’s targeted group. Form 8850 should be

employer’s responsibility to ascertain that the place

CAUTION

filed with the state SESA unless the employee checks

where the employee lived on August 28, 2005, (the

only the Hurricane Katrina employee box, in which case

address on line 1 of the form) is in fact in the core

disaster area (see pages 2 and 3 for a list of these

the employer should keep the Form 8850 for its records.

Cat. No. 24833J

Instructions For Form 8850 - 2006

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