Instructions for Form 8850 (Rev. April 2020) (For use with the March 2016 revision of Form 8850, Pre-Screening Notice and Certification Request for the Work Opportunity Credit) Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service
Members of Targeted Groups ), the employer completes the rest of the form no later than the day the job offer is made. Both the job applicant and the employer must sign Form 8850 no later than the date for submitting the form to the SWA. Instructions for Employer When and Where To File Don’t file Form 8850 with the IRS. Instead, you must submit it to the SWA of the state in which your business is located (where the employee works) generally no later than the 28th calendar day after the date the individual begins working for you. However, submitting Form 8850 to the SWA is listed in Rev. Proc. 2018-58 (section 15, item 12) as an act that may be postponed for taxpayers affected by a federally declared disaster. Notice 2020-23, citing the COVID-19 emergency declaration, allows all employers to submit Form 8850 to the SWA by July 15, 2020, if the 28th calendar day falls on or after April 1, 2020, and before July 15, 2020. Any extensions of the July 15 date will be posted at IRS.gov/Form8850 .
General Instructions Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless otherwise noted. Future Developments For the latest information about developments related to Form 8850 and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they were published, go to IRS.gov/Form8850 . What's New The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019 made the following changes. • The work opportunity credit has been extended to cover certain individuals who begin working for you in 2020. • The empowerment zone designations expired at the end of 2017. However, the Act provides for an extension of the designations to the end of 2020. To extend the designations, state and local governments must amend their nominations of the designated zones in order to move the termination date to December 31, 2020. The IRS is working to provide guidance on how to amend the nomination of an empowerment zone to provide for a new termination date. Go to IRS.gov/Form8850 for updates on the guidance once it becomes available. Purpose of Form Employers use Form 8850 to pre-screen and to make a written request to the state workforce agency (SWA) of the state in which their business is located (where the employee works) to certify an individual as a member of a targeted group for purposes of qualifying for the work opportunity credit. Submitting Form 8850 to the SWA is but one step in the process of qualifying for the work opportunity credit. The state work opportunity tax credit (WOTC) coordinator for the SWA must certify the job applicant is a member of a targeted group. After starting work, the employee must meet the minimum number-of-hours-worked requirement for the work opportunity credit. Generally, an employer elects to take the credit by filing Form 5884, Work Opportunity Credit. However, a tax-exempt organization that hires a qualified veteran must report the work opportunity credit on Form 5884-C, Work Opportunity Credit for Qualified Tax-Exempt Organizations Hiring Qualified Veterans. You must receive the certification from the SWA before you can claim the related credit on Form 5884 or Form 5884-C. Who Should Complete and Sign the Form The job applicant gives information to the employer on or before the day a job offer is made. This information is entered on Form 8850. If the employer believes the applicant is a member of a targeted group (as defined later, under CAUTION !
If the credit expires and is retroactively extended, the IRS may allow you more time to submit Form 8850 for an individual who began work while the credit was
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expired or for a reasonable time after it was extended. If more time is allowed, we will provide details at IRS.gov/Form8850 and in revised Instructions for Form 8850. Although facsimile submission of Form 8850 is permitted, not all states are equipped to accept a faxed copy of Form 8850. Contact your state WOTC coordinator as discussed below and see Notice 2012-13 for details. Notice 2012-13, 2012-9 I.R.B. 421, is available at IRS.gov/irb/ 2012-09_IRB#NOT-2012-13 . Although electronic submission of Form 8850 is permitted, not all states are equipped to receive Form 8850 electronically. Contact your state WOTC coordinator as discussed next and see Announcement 2002-44 and Notice 2012-13 for details. You can find Announcement 2002-44 on page 809 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 2002-17 at IRS.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb02-17.pdf . To get the name, address, phone and fax numbers, and email address of the WOTC coordinator for your state, visit the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (ETA) website at www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/ wotc/contact/state-workforce-agencies . Never attach Form 8850 to a tax return or otherwise send it to the IRS, regardless of the employee's targeted group. Form 8850 must be submitted to the SWA of the state in which your business is located (where the employee works). CAUTION !
Cat. No. 24833J
Apr 30, 2020
15
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