Form 8850 is due 28 calendar days after a start date. During the 2026 WOTC authority lapse the clock still runs.
Form 8850 due to SWA
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Days left to file
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days
Window
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Credit rate
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percent
Group wage cap
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USD
Qualified first-year wages
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USD
Credit per hire
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USD
2026 authority
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Checked this hire? Keep the whole roster. Full version: keeps every hire you check as a dated CSV filing log you export and hand to your accountant, and sets a day-21 and day-27 Chrome alarm on each open 28-day window.
$60 once · one licence key per person or team seat · WOTC screening services charge 15-25 percent of every credit captured; on a 5600 veteran credit that is 840-1400 per hire.
The 28-day date, not 30 Form 8850 must reach the state workforce agency by the 28th calendar day after the first day of work. A hire who starts 2026-09-10 is due 2026-10-08. Day 29 forfeits the credit permanently.
120 and 400 hour bands Under 120 hours the rate is 0 percent. 120 to 399 hours is 25 percent. 400 hours or more is 40 percent. A hire at 415 hours earns 40 percent, not 25.
Seven target-group wage caps Qualified first-year wages are capped per group: 6000 most groups, 3000 summer youth, 10000 long-term TANF, 6000 and 14000 unemployed veterans, 12000 and 24000 disabled veterans. 18000 of wages against the 14000 veteran cap gives 5600 at 40 percent, not 7200.
The 2026 lapse line Authority to claim the credit lapsed for wages paid after 2025-12-31. State workforce agencies still accept Form 8850 and hold it in queue, so an on-time 2026 filing keeps the claim alive if Congress restores the credit retroactively.
Signed on or before offer day Page 1 of Form 8850 must be signed by the applicant on or before the day the job offer is made. A form signed on the first day of work is void no matter how fast it is filed.
Roster CSV and day-21 alert The paid key exports every hire you have checked as a dated CSV filing log and sets a Chrome alarm at day 21 and day 27 of each 28-day window.