Work Opportunity Tax Credit Statistics 2020

MARCH 2020 – The latest statistics for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit from 2020 have just been released, and the data shows 1,620,806 total Work Opportunity Tax Credits were issued in the United States in 2020. This represents an almost 22% drop over previous years 2019 (2,066,616 credits), and 2018 (2,204,142 credits), and shows the dramatic impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. economy.

WOTC Statistics 2015-2020

SNAP continues to be the highest WOTC qualifying target group with 68.28%, the next highest categories were TANF (long and short term) at 7.5%, and the combined Qualified Veteran target groups categories adding up to 6.58%.

Although the actual value of the issued tax credits would actually vary based on hours worked, and category the employee came in under, we are using the average tax credit value of $2,400. This would give us a potential total value of 2020’s tax credits at an impressive $3,889,934,400. 

 

WOTC Target Groups 2020 Total Credits Percentage
SNAP (FS) 1,106,756 68.28%
Long term IV-A (TANF) 70,864 4.37%
Ex-Felon 69,137 4.27%
Designated Community Resident 68,198 4.21%
SSI Recipient 60,948 3.76%
Long Term Unemployment 53,774 3.32%
Veteran unemp. 6 Mo. 52,685 3.25%
IV-A (TANF) 50,754 3.13%
Veteran unemp. 4 Wk 41,156 2.54%
Vocational Rehabilitation 29,316 1.81%
Veteran Receiving SNAP 9,578 0.59%
Ticket Holder 4,151 0.26%
Disabled Veteran unemp. 6 Mo. 2,179 0.13%
Disabled Veteran 1,099 0.07%
Summer Youth 211 0.01%

 

States Issuing Most Credits by Target Group

California and Texas leads the pack in most categories. California issued the most certifications for the IV-A (TANF) and Long term IV-A (TANF), as well as Long-Term Unemployment and Veteran Unemployed for Six Months.

Texas issued the most certifications for SNAP Recipients, Ex Felons, Designated Community Residents and Vocational Rehabilitation referrals.

WOTC Target Group State Issuing Most Credits Number of Credits
SNAP (FS) Texas 94,283
Long term IV-A (TANF) California 13,434
Ex-Felon Texas 7,744
Designated Community Resident Texas 9,213
SSI Recipient Ohio 7,433
Long Term Unemployment California 10,974
Veteran unemp. 6 Mo. California 8,133
IV-A (TANF) California 10,132
Veteran unemp. 4 Wk Georgia 4,462
Vocational Rehabilitation Texas 4,980
Veteran Receiving SNAP Florida 678
Ticket Holder Georgia 411
Disabled Veteran unemp. 6 Mo. Georgia 312
Disabled Veteran Colorado 197
Summer Youth Missouri 45

 

Which states issued the most WOTC tax credits?
Texas issued 135,602 certifications in 2020 making it the largest issuer of Work Opportunity Tax Credits. California came in second with 127,188, and Ohio third with 90,326.

States Issuing the Most WOTC Credits in 2020

States that issued the most WOTC tax credits 2020

  1. Texas 135,602 (8.37% of total)
  2. California 127,188 (7.85% of total)
  3. Ohio 90,236 (5.57% of total)
  4. Illinois 81,738 (5.04% of total)
  5. Florida 79,311 (4.89% of total)
  6. Pennsylvania 70,109 (4.33% of total)
  7. New York 68,612 (4.23% of total)
  8. Georgia 65,548 (4.04% of total)
  9. North Carolina 61,880 (3.82% of total)
  10. Michigan 60,276 (3.72% of total)

 

Which states received the most and least requests for WOTC?

States with the Most WOTC Requests in 2020
Missouri received the most WOTC requests from employers in 2020 with 786,765 requests, and the two states with the highest estimated populations Texas came in at 726,486 and California came in at 526,262.

Most Requests

  1. Missouri 786,765
  2. Texas 726,486
  3. California 526,262
  4. New York 303,577
  5. Florida 284,681
  6. Ohio 283,988
  7. Kentucky 267,185
  8. Illinois 243,641
  9. Tennessee 223,715
  10. North Carolina 220,318

Least Requests

  1. Virgin Islands 887 (not shown on above map)
  2. Puerto Rico 5,484 (not shown on above map)
  3. Montana 8,480
  4. South Dakota 8,672
  5. DC 10,565
  6. Vermont 11,249
  7. New Hampshire 15,052
  8.  North Dakota 16,957
  9. Nebraska 25,335
  10. Wyoming 26,914

 

Which states issued most denials?
Texas has issued the most denials at 280,511, California and Florida also issuing over 200,000 denials so far.

  1. Texas 280,511
  2. California 255,527
  3. Florida 200,976
  4. Ohio 193,746
  5. New York 149,294
  6. Illinois 124,026
  7. Pennsylvania 112,646
  8. Georgia 109,723
  9.  Tennessee 95,854
  10. North Carolina 91,470

 

Which states are the most caught up and most still pending with WOTC requests?

This is important to consider. At CMS, we are always asked the question “How long does it take to receive a WOTC Tax Credit?” Well, it depends on how much of a backlog the state you are in is currently working on. Last year 12 states were issued grants to help alleviate their WOTC backlogs and update their systems.

Missouri currently has the most pending requests at 657,377, and Texas at 310,373 and Kentucky, Connecticut, Iowa, California, Kansas, Maryland, and New Jersey have over 100,000 requests pending for 2020. (As of February 2021.)

  1. Missouri 657,377
  2. Texas 310,373
  3. Kentucky 179,346
  4. Connecticut 165,575
  5. Iowa 155,553
  6. California 143,547
  7. Kansas 141,009
  8. Maryland 120,559
  9. New Jersey 103,334
  10. New York 85,671

Congratulations to Montana, New Mexico and Pennsylvania who do not have any pending requests!

 

What are the most popular WOTC Target Groups / Categories in 2020?

WOTC Target Groups 2020 Total Credits Percentage
SNAP (FS) 1,106,756 68.28%
Long term IV-A (TANF) 70,864 4.37%
Ex-Felon 69,137 4.27%
Designated Community Resident 68,198 4.21%
SSI Recipient 60,948 3.76%
Long Term Unemployment 53,774 3.32%
Veteran unemp. 6 Mo. 52,685 3.25%
IV-A (TANF) 50,754 3.13%
Veteran unemp. 4 Wk 41,156 2.54%
Vocational Rehabilitation 29,316 1.81%
Veteran Receiving SNAP 9,578 0.59%
Ticket Holder 4,151 0.26%
Disabled Veteran unemp. 6 Mo. 2,179 0.13%
Disabled Veteran 1,099 0.07%
Summer Youth 211 0.01%

You can see from the table above that SNAP (FS) dominated all categories in 2020 with  1,106,756 qualified certifications which represents a total of 68.28% of all qualified employees. This was the most popular category, by a wide margin and has increased by 3.2% over 2019.

WOTC Target Groups by Year 2018-2020

The Qualifying Veteran categories total 6.58% of the total qualifying categories, coming in second. The most popular Veteran category was the Veteran unemployed 6 Months 3.25%. Veteran unemployed 4 Weeks 2.54%, Veteran Receiving SNAP 0.59%, Disabled Veteran unemployed 6 Months 0.13% and Disabled Veteran 0.07%.

The third most popular category was the Long term IV-A (TANF) which had 70,864 total certifications issued, and only 4.37% of the total. This is the only tax credit that is taken over two years.

 

States with most WOTC Tax Credits for SNAP Recipients (food stamps):

  1. Texas 94,283
  2. Illinois 73,995
  3. California 68,610
  4. Ohio 61,764
  5. Florida 57,357
  6. North Carolina 50,719
  7. New York 50,705
  8. Pennsylvania 49,502
  9. Georgia 49,250
  10.  Oklahoma 44,092

 

States with most WOTC Tax Credits for qualified Veterans (over all five vet. categories – Veteran Receiving SNAP, Disabled Veteran, Disabled Veteran unemp. 6 Mo., Veteran unemp. 4 Wk, Veteran unemp. 6 Mo.). The Qualified Veteran category had 106,697 qualified certifications at 6.58% overall.

  1. California 13,020
  2. Texas 8,839
  3. Florida 8,628
  4. Georgia 8,053
  5. Pennsylvania 4,568
  6.  Washington 4,552
  7.  Oklahoma 3,976
  8. Colorado 3,929
  9. South Carolina 3,335
  10. Arizona 3,333

 

States with most WOTC Tax Credits for TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families):

The IV-A (TANF) category had 50,754 qualified certifications at 3.13% overall.

  1. California 10,132
  2.  Wisconsin 6,937
  3. Pennsylvania 4,542
  4.  Tennessee 4,135
  5. Minnesota 2,537
  6. Ohio 1,790
  7.  Oregon 1,712
  8. Massachusetts 1,700
  9. New York 1,642
  10.  Virginia 1,523

The Long term IV-A (TANF) – Credit Taken Over Two Years –  had 70,864 qualified certifications at 4.37% overall.

  1. California 13,434
  2. New York 6,104
  3. Indiana 5,796
  4. Ohio 5,042
  5. Minnesota 3,594
  6. Pennsylvania 3,583
  7. Massachusetts 2,806
  8. Rhode Island 2,740
  9. Illinois 2,436
  10. Florida 2,360

 

Most felon friendly states: States with most WOTC Tax Credits for Ex-Felons

Ex-Felon was the fourth most popular qualifying category, at only 4.27% and 69,137 certifications issued. So which state had the most ex-felons qualifying? (Why you shouldn’t overlook hiring Ex-Offenders.)

  1. Texas 7,744
  2. North Carolina 4,104
  3. Georgia 3,882
  4. Wisconsin 3,848
  5. California 3,737
  6. Missouri 3,195
  7. Florida 3,082
  8. Indiana 2,791
  9. Oklahoma 2,569
  10. Kentucky 2,467

 

States with most WOTC Tax Credits for Designated Community Residents

The Designated Community Resident category had 68,198 qualified certifications at 4.21% overall. Washington, Puerto Rico, Delaware, Hawaii, Washington DC, Vermont and the U.S. Virgin Islands had no qualifying tax credits for this category.

  1. Texas 9,213
  2. Virginia 7,146
  3. Mississippi 6,587
  4. Ohio 5,749
  5.  North Dakota 4,516
  6.  Oklahoma 3,600
  7. Arkansas 3,435
  8. Kentucky 3,399
  9. Michigan 3,238
  10. Alabama 3,212

 

States with most WOTC Tax Credits for SSI Recipients

The SSI Recipient category had 60,948 qualified certifications at 3.76% overall.

  1. Ohio 7,433
  2. California 5,624
  3. Florida 4,110
  4. Michigan 3,826
  5. Texas 3,822
  6. Pennsylvania 3,045
  7.  Tennessee 3,024
  8. Georgia 2,768
  9. North Carolina 2,385
  10. Maryland 2,370

 

States with most WOTC Tax Credits for Long Term Unemployment Recipients

The Long Term Unemployment category received 3.32% of all certifications for a total of 53,774 certifications. Vermont and the U.S. Virgin Islands did not report any Long-Term Unemployment certifications.

  1. California 10,974
  2. Texas 5,565
  3. New Jersey 3,089
  4. Illinois 3,066
  5. Maryland 2,441
  6. Pennsylvania 2,023
  7. New York 1,977
  8. Indiana 1,964
  9. Michigan 1,633
  10.  Washington 1,563

 

States with most WOTC Tax Credits for Vocational Rehabilitation:

The Vocational Rehabilitation category had 29,316 qualified certifications at 1.81% overall. Alaska and the U.S. Virgin Islands did not report any Vocational Rehabilitation certifications.

  1. Texas 4,980
  2. Ohio 4,121
  3. Kentucky 1,883
  4. California 1,649
  5. Florida 1,552
  6. Wisconsin 1,458
  7. Rhode Island 1,357
  8. North Carolina 1,340
  9. Missouri 1,130
  10. Pennsylvania 894

 

State with most WOTC Tax Credits for Ticket-to-Work Holders:

The Ticket Holder category had 4,151 qualified certifications at 0.26% overall. Tennessee, Texas, California, Wisconsin, Michigan, Louisiana, Washington, New Jersey, Vermont, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands did not report any Ticket-to-Work certifications.

  1. Georgia 411
  2. Alabama 345
  3. Massachusetts 328
  4. North Carolina 326
  5. New York 299
  6. South Carolina 252
  7. Pennsylvania 244
  8. Idaho 226
  9. Kentucky 176
  10. Florida 176

 

States with most WOTC Tax Credits for Summer Youth:

The Summer Youth category was the smallest WOTC category with just 211 qualified certifications at 0.01% of the total overall.

  1. Missouri 45
  2.  Virginia 35
  3. Oklahoma 27
  4. Ohio 21
  5.  Tennessee 18
  6. Maryland 15
  7. Connecticut 14
  8. Indiana 10
  9. Pennsylvania 8
  10. Kentucky 4

 

View WOTC Statistics from 2014-2020 by State:

Alabama Idaho Mississippi Oklahoma Virginia
Alaska Illinois Missouri Oregon Washington
Arizona Indiana Montana Pennsylvania West Virginia
Arkansas Iowa Nebraska Puerto Rico Wisconsin
California Kansas Nevada Rhode Island Wyoming
Colorado Kentucky New Hampshire South Carolina
Connecticut Louisiana New Jersey South Dakota
DC Maine New Mexico Tennessee
Delaware Maryland New York Texas
Florida Massachusetts North Carolina Utah
Georgia Michigan North Dakota Vermont
Hawaii Minnesota Ohio Virgin Islands

 

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