Louisiana Work Opportunity Tax Credit Program

The Louisiana Work Opportunity Tax Credit Program, created by the Legislature in 2021 for certain business that hire ire re-entrants participating in work release programs. It provides a 5% income tax credit on wages paid to eligible re-entrants, with a cap of $2,500 per business per eligible re-entrant.
The credit shall be earned upon certification by an eligible business that it has employed an eligible re-entrant in an eligible job for twelve consecutive 11 months following the release of the eligible re-entrant from imprisonment. The 12 credit may be earned only once for each eligible re-entrant.

Eligibility:

• A new job
• An existing job that has been vacant for at least one year
• An existing job that is vacant because the person who previously filled 4 the job left voluntarily or was terminated
• “Eligible re-entrant” shall mean an inmate or former inmate who is 6 eligible to participate and is actively participating in a work release program 7 provided for in R.S. 15:711, 1111, 1199.9, or 1199.10.
• An eligible re-entrant shall meet all the criteria provided for in R.S. 15:1199.7. 9 C.
• Proposed law provides the credit is earned upon certification that the re-entrant has been employed by the eligible business in an eligible job for 12 consecutive months.
• Provides that the credit may be earned only once for each eligible re-entrant
• Provides that the amount of the credit shall be 50% of the wages paid to the eligible re-entrant for employment in an eligible job during the specified time period.
• Provides that the credit amount shall be no more than $20,000 per eligible business in a calendar year.
• Program launches on January 1, 2022.

Louisiana Workforce Commission
Department of Labor
Nicole Learson, Program Administrator
Phone: 225 342-2939
Email: nlearson@lwc.la.gov