The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a Federal tax credit incentive that Congress provides to private-sector businesses for hiring individuals from nine target groups who have consistently faced significant barriers to employment - one of the target populations being individuals who have released from prison. The main objective of this program is to enable the targeted employees to gradually move from economic dependency into self-sufficiency as they earn a steady income and become contributing taxpayers, while the participating employers are compensated by being able to reduce their federal income tax liability. WOTC joins other workforce programs that help incentivize workplace diversity and facilitate access to good jobs for American workers.