What Is a WOTC Questionnaire and Should You Fill It Out?

A WOTC questionnaire is a short screening form — usually IRS Form 8850 — that an employer asks new hires or applicants to complete so the company can find out whether hiring you qualifies it for the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit.1Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8850, Pre-Screening Notice and Certification Request for the Work Opportunity Credit Filling it out is voluntary. You can decline, and federal guidance is explicit that refusing cannot be held against you in the hiring decision.2U.S. Department of Labor. Updated Work Opportunity Tax Credit Procedural Guidance

What the Questionnaire Is For

The Work Opportunity Tax Credit is a federal tax break that reduces an employer’s tax bill when the company hires someone from one of ten specific groups Congress has designated. The questionnaire is how the employer figures out, at the point of hire, whether you might belong to one of those groups. Nothing on the form is about your qualifications for the job; it’s about whether your background triggers the credit.

The form most applicants see is IRS Form 8850, formally titled the Pre-Screening Notice and Certification Request for the Work Opportunity Credit.1Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8850, Pre-Screening Notice and Certification Request for the Work Opportunity Credit It asks for your name, address, and Social Security number, and then asks you to check boxes indicating whether any of the listed categories apply to you. Your part has to be signed on or before the day the employer offers you the job.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8850

If any box is checked, you may also be asked to complete ETA Form 9061, the Individual Characteristics Form.4U.S. Department of Labor. ETA Form 9061 – Individual Characteristics Form That one goes deeper: your date of birth, dates you received specific benefits like SNAP or TANF, any veteran discharge dates, or case numbers for public assistance you’ve received. If a state agency or the Department of Veterans Affairs has already confirmed your eligibility, the employer may use ETA Form 9062 instead.5U.S. Department of Labor. How to File a WOTC Certification Request

Form 8850 carries a perjury statement, so anything you check has to be accurate. A state workforce agency will cross-reference what you write against federal and state records.6Internal Revenue Service. Form 8850 Many employers now collect the form electronically as part of onboarding, which the IRS allows as long as the system verifies who is signing and can produce a paper copy on request.7Internal Revenue Service. Electronic Submission of Form 8850

Do You Have to Fill It Out?

No. Federal guidance is clear: completing Form 8850 is strictly voluntary, and a job applicant may refuse without any adverse effect on being hired.2U.S. Department of Labor. Updated Work Opportunity Tax Credit Procedural Guidance An employer cannot use your refusal to deny you a position or treat you differently during hiring.

Your answers don’t go to the hiring manager or your future supervisor. They’re routed to the employer’s tax department or an outside tax consultant handling WOTC filings. Companies are required to keep WOTC documents separate from your regular personnel file so information about public assistance, veteran status, or a past conviction doesn’t influence workplace decisions or evaluations.

If you’re uncomfortable disclosing any of the information the form asks about, you have two reasonable options: leave the target group boxes blank, or decline the form entirely. Either choice is protected.

What the Categories Are

The credit only applies when a new hire fits into one of ten groups defined in federal law.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 51 Amount of Credit Reading the list can help you decide whether checking anything on the form even applies to you:

  • A member of a family that received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) for any 9 months during the 18 months before your hire date.9DOL.gov. WOTC Eligibility Desk Aid
  • A veteran with a service-connected disability, or one who received SNAP or was unemployed for an extended period before hire.
  • Someone convicted of a felony and hired within one year of the conviction or release.9DOL.gov. WOTC Eligibility Desk Aid
  • A person aged 18 to 39 living in a federally designated Empowerment Zone or Rural Renewal County.10Internal Revenue Service. Work Opportunity Tax Credit
  • A person with a disability referred by a state vocational rehabilitation agency, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or an Employment Network under the Ticket to Work program.
  • A summer youth employee aged 16 or 17 who lives in an Empowerment Zone and works only between May 1 and September 15.10Internal Revenue Service. Work Opportunity Tax Credit
  • A person aged 18 to 39 whose family received SNAP benefits for the six months ending on the hire date, or at least three of the five months ending on the hire date in certain cases.
  • Someone who received Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for any month ending within 60 days before the hire date.10Internal Revenue Service. Work Opportunity Tax Credit
  • A member of a family that received TANF for at least 18 consecutive months, or whose benefits ended within the past two years due to a time limit.
  • A person who was unemployed for at least 27 consecutive weeks and received unemployment compensation for some or all of that period.10Internal Revenue Service. Work Opportunity Tax Credit

You only need to fit one of these groups for the employer to pursue certification. If none of them describe you, the questionnaire is essentially a dead end — checking nothing is an accurate answer.

What Happens After You Turn It In

If you check a box, the employer submits Form 8850 along with ETA Form 9061 (or 9062) to the state workforce agency where you’re working. The agency then verifies your eligibility against government records: TANF enrollment dates, veteran status, prior convictions, and so on. You aren’t involved in that step. All the follow-up communication happens between the agency and the employer.

The agency either certifies you as a qualifying hire or denies the request. If certified, the employer can claim the credit against its federal tax bill based on your first-year wages. Depending on the category and hours worked, that credit can range from a few hundred dollars to $9,600 for certain qualified veterans.10Internal Revenue Service. Work Opportunity Tax Credit

Does the Credit Pay You Anything?

No. The credit reduces the employer’s tax liability. There is no direct payment to you as the employee, no addition to your paycheck, and nothing to report on your own tax return because of the questionnaire. The practical benefit for workers in these groups is indirect: the credit gives employers a financial reason to consider and hire people from categories that have historically faced barriers to employment.

A Note on the Program’s Status

The WOTC was most recently authorized through December 31, 2025, which is why you may still encounter the questionnaire during onboarding.10Internal Revenue Service. Work Opportunity Tax Credit Congress has not yet extended it beyond that date, though the program has been renewed multiple times since 1996 and past lapses have been followed by retroactive extensions. Some employers keep screening new hires so they’re prepared to claim the credit if the program is renewed. Whether it is or isn’t, your right to decline the questionnaire doesn’t change.