5 smart tax moves

Here's a reason to introduce your accountant to even your most junior hires: Some of them may qualify you for generous tax savings. If you employ certain types of disadvantaged workers, you may be eligible for the lucrative Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC).

Congress spells out with extreme precision - and periodic updates - which workers qualify. Here are some examples: those between the ages of 18 and 39 who live in federally designated enterprise communities; ex-felons hired within one year of their release date; recently discharged veterans injured in the line of duty and out of work for six months or more.

The WOTC is tailor-made for restaurants, retailers, and other industries that use a lot of unskilled labor. Yet tax experts note that these very businesses, especially small ones, hardly ever claim it.

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