Employers rarely miss WOTC because they are ineligible. They miss it because a step happened in the wrong order, or did not happen at all.
1. Screening after the start date
The pre-screening notice has to be completed on or before the day the offer is made. Once someone has started, the window for that hire is closed.
2. Treating it as a manager's responsibility
Any process that depends on a busy hiring manager remembering an extra form will degrade within a quarter. Screening has to be a required field in onboarding.
3. Missing the certification deadline
Screening is only step one. The certification request still has to reach the state workforce agency inside a fixed window after the start date.
4. Not tracking hours
Credits depend on hours worked after hire. If payroll data is never connected back to the certified employees, the claim cannot be supported.
5. Discarding documentation
Certification letters and screening records need to survive long after the return is filed. Reviews can arrive years later.
Every one of these failures is procedural. Fix the sequence once and the credits arrive on their own.
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