The Work Opportunity Tax Credit ("WOTC") is available to employers who hire certain hard-to-employ targeted groups. Some of these groups are partially defined by their residence in urban or rural renewal empowerment zones. A list of such zones is as follows, as well as links to verify is certain addresses are within the zone.
Empowerment Zones and Rural Renewal Communities
Empowerment Zones
The following paragraphs describe areas that were designated empowerment zones. For the latest information about empowerment zone designations, go to www.irs.gov/form8850.
Urban areas. Parts of the following urban areas were designated empowerment zones. You can find out if your business or an employee's residence is located within an urban empowerment zone by using the EZ/RC Address Locator at www.hud.gov/crlocator. [UPDATE-3/8/18 - Several sources have reported that this link is not working properly. One person tells me every address he entered is identified as "in the zone". Use with caution, and let me know if you find a solution!]
Baltimore, MD
Boston, MA
Chicago, IL
Cincinnati, OH
Cleveland, OH
Columbia/Sumter, SC
Columbus, OH
Cumberland County, NJ
Detroit, MI
El Paso, TX
Fresno, CA
Gary/Hammond/East Chicago, IN
Huntington, WV/Ironton, OH
Jacksonville, FL
Knoxville, TN
Los Angeles, CA (city and county)
Miami/Dade County, FL
Minneapolis, MN
New Haven, CT
New York, NY
Norfolk/Portsmouth, VA
Oklahoma City, OK
Philadelphia, PA/Camden, NJ
Pulaski County, AR
San Antonio, TX
Santa Ana, CA
St. Louis, MO/East St. Louis, IL
Syracuse, NY
Tucson, AZ
Yonkers, NY
Rural areas. Parts of the following rural areas were designated empowerment zones. You can find out if your business or an employee's residence is located within a rural empowerment zone by using the EZ/RC Address Locator at www.hud.gov/crlocator.
Aroostook County, ME (part of Aroostook County)
Desert Communities, CA (part of Riverside County)
Griggs-Steele, ND (part of Griggs County and all of Steele County)
Kentucky Highlands, KY (part of Wayne County and all of Clinton and Jackson Counties)
Mid-Delta, MS (parts of Bolivar, Holmes, Humphreys, Leflore, Sunflower, and Washington Counties)
Middle Rio Grande FUTURO Communities, TX (parts of Dimmit, Maverick, Uvalde, and Zavala Counties)
Oglala Sioux Tribe, SD (parts of Jackson and Bennett Counties and all of Shannon County)
Rio Grande Valley, TX (parts of Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy Counties)
Southernmost Illinois Delta, IL (parts of Alexander and Johnson Counties and all of Pulaski County)
Southwest Georgia United, GA (part of Crisp County and all of Dooly County)
Rural Renewal Counties
A rural renewal county is a county in a rural area that lost population during the 5-year periods 1990 through 1994 and 1995 through 1999. Rural renewal counties are listed below.
Alabama. The counties of Butler, Dallas, Macon, Perry, Sumter, and Wilcox.
Alaska. The census areas of Aleutians West, Wrangell-Petersburg, and Yukon-Koyukuk.
Arkansas. The counties of Arkansas, Chicot, Clay, Desha, Jackson, Lafayette, Lee, Little River, Monroe, Nevada, Ouachita, Phillips, Union, and Woodruff.
Colorado. The counties of Cheyenne, Kiowa, and San Juan.
Georgia. The counties of Randolph and Stewart.
Illinois. The counties of Alexander, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Greene, Hancock, Hardin, Jasper, Knox, McDonough, Montgomery, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, Scott, Warren, Wayne, and White.
Indiana. Perry County.
Iowa. The counties of Adair, Adams, Appanoose, Audubon, Butler, Calhoun, Cass, Cherokee, Clay, Clayton, Emmet, Floyd, Franklin, Fremont, Hancock, Humboldt, Ida, Keokuk, Kossuth, Montgomery, Osceola, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Poweshiek, Sac, Taylor, Union, Wayne, Winnebago, and Worth.
Kansas. The counties of Atchison, Barber, Barton, Brown, Clay, Cloud, Comanche, Decatur, Edwards, Elk, Ellsworth, Gove, Graham, Greeley, Greenwood, Harper, Hodgeman, Jewell, Kiowa, Labette, Lane, Lincoln, Marshall, Mitchell, Montgomery, Ness, Osborne, Phillips, Rawlins, Republic, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Scott, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Stafford, Trego, Wallace, Washington, Wichita, and Woodson.
Kentucky. The counties of Bell, Caldwell, Floyd, Harlan, Hickman, Leslie, Letcher, Pike, and Union.
Louisiana. The parishes of Bienville, Claiborne, Franklin, Jackson, Morehouse, St. Mary, Tensas, Vernon, and Webster.
Maine. The counties of Aroostook and Piscataquis.
Michigan. The counties of Gogebic, Marquette, and Ontonagon.
Minnesota. The counties of Big Stone, Chippewa, Cottonwood, Faribault, Jackson, Kittson, Koochiching, Lac Qui Parle, Lincoln, Marshall, Martin, Murray, Norman, Pipestone, Red Lake, Redwood, Renville, Stevens, Traverse, Wilkin, and Yellow Medicine.
Mississippi. The counties of Adams, Coahoma, Humphreys, Montgomery, Quitman, Sharkey, Tallahatchie, and Washington.
Missouri. The counties of Atchison, Carroll, Chariton, Clark, Holt, Knox, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, and Worth.
Montana. The counties of Carter, Daniels, Dawson, Deer Lodge, Fallon, Garfield, Hill, Liberty, McCone, Petroleum, Phillips, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sheridan, Valley, and Wibaux.
Nebraska. The counties of Antelope, Banner, Boone, Box Butte, Boyd, Burt, Cedar, Chase, Deuel, Dundy, Fillmore, Franklin, Garden, Garfield, Greeley, Hayes, Hitchcock, Holt, Jefferson, Johnson, Logan, Nance, Nemaha, Nuckolls, Pawnee, Perkins, Red Willow, Richardson, Rock, Sheridan, Sherman, Thayer, Thomas, Valley, Webster, and Wheeler.
Nevada. The counties of Esmeralda, Lander, and Mineral.
New Hampshire. Coos County.
New Mexico. The counties of Harding and Quay.
New York. The counties of Clinton and Montgomery.
North Dakota. The counties of Adams, Barnes, Benson, Billings, Bottineau, Burke, Cavalier, Dickey, Divide, Dunn, Eddy, Emmons, Foster, Golden Valley, Grant, Griggs, Hettinger, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McHenry, McIntosh, McKenzie, McLean, Mercer, Mountrail, Nelson, Oliver, Pembina, Pierce, Ramsey, Ransom, Renville, Sargent, Sheridan, Slope, Stark, Steele, Stutsman, Towner, Traill, Walsh, Wells, and Williams.
Ohio. The counties of Crawford, Monroe, Paulding, Seneca, and Van Wert.
Oklahoma. The counties of Alfalfa, Beaver, Cimarron, Custer, Dewey, Ellis, Grant, Greer, Harmon, Harper, Kiowa, Major, Roger Mills, Seminole, Tillman, and Woodward.
Pennsylvania. The counties of Venango and Warren.
South Carolina. Marlboro County.
South Dakota. The counties of Aurora, Campbell, Clark, Day, Deuel, Douglas, Faulk, Grant, Gregory, Haakon, Hand, Harding, Hutchinson, Jones, Kingsbury, Marshall, McPherson, Miner, Perkins, Potter, Sanborn, Spink, Tripp, and Walworth.
Texas. The counties of Andrews, Bailey, Baylor, Borden, Briscoe, Brooks, Castro, Cochran, Coleman, Collingsworth, Cottle, Crane, Culberson, Deaf Smith, Dimmit, Eastland, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Gray, Hall, Hardeman, Haskell, Hemphill, Hockley, Hutchinson, Kenedy, Kent, Knox, Lamb, Martin, McCulloch, Morris, Nolan, Oldham, Reagan, Reeves, Refugio, Roberts, Scurry, Stonewall, Terrell, Terry, Upton, Ward, Wheeler, Wilbarger, Winkler, Yoakum, and Zavala.
Virginia. The counties of Buchanan, Dickenson, Highland, and Lee, and the independent cities of Clifton Forge, Covington, Norton, and Staunton.
West Virginia. The counties of Calhoun, Gilmer, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Summers, Tucker, Webster, Wetzel, and Wyoming.
Wyoming. The counties of Carbon and Niobrara.