Farmers who plan to add additional help this year may want to consider hiring veterans, according to Gary Hoff and Carolyn J. Schimpler, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois. You may be eligible for a generous tax credit for hiring unemployed veterans. Recent legislation has expanded the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to include qualified veterans who begin work after Nov. 21, 2011, and before Jan. 1, 2013. The amount of the credit depends on a number of factors, including the length of the veteran’s unemployment, hours the veteran works, and the amount of first-year wages paid.
Generally, the credit is 40% of the applicable first-year wages for the qualified veteran. To qualify for the credit, the employer must complete the certification papers when the worker is hired. These forms can be downloaded at:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8850.pdf
http://www.doleta.gov/business/incentives/opptax/PDF/eta_form_9061.pdf