WASHINGTON ― Businesses planning to claim the recently-expanded work opportunity tax credit for eligible unemployed veterans and disconnected youth hired before mid-September now have until Oct. 17 to request the certification required for these workers, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

In Notice 2009-69, released in August, the IRS extended the certification deadline from Aug. 17, 2009, to Oct. 17, 2009, and clarified the definition of “disconnected youth.” Revised Form 8850 , available on IRS.gov, is used by employers to request certification from their state workforce agency.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, enacted in February, added unemployed veterans returning to civilian life and certain younger workers, referred to as disconnected youth, to the list of groups covered by the credit.

Normally, a business must file Form 8850 with the state workforce agency within 28 days after the eligible worker begins work. But under a special rule, businesses have until Oct. 17, 2009, to file this form for unemployed veterans and disconnected youth who begin work on or after Jan. 1, 2009 and before Sept. 17, 2009. The instructions for Form 8850 provide details on requesting the certification.