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What is the Employee Retention Credit?
The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, enacted December 27, 2020, made a number of changes to the employee retention tax credits previously made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), including modifying and extending the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), for six months through June 30, 2021. Several of the changes apply only to 2021, while others apply to both 2020 and 2021.
As a result of the new legislation, eligible employers can now claim a refundable tax credit against the employer share of Social Security tax equal to 70% of the qualified wages they pay to employees after December 31, 2020, through June 30, 2021. Qualified wages are limited to $10,000 per employee per calendar quarter in 2021. Thus, the maximum ERC amount available is $7,000 per employee per calendar quarter, for a total of $14,000 in 2021.
COVID-19 has certainly been a challenge for all of us. The economy came to a halt as a result of the world effectively shutting down, leaving the future of many businesses in a tumultuous state. As conditions begin to return to now, businesses such as yours have to focus on recovering and there are several government programs to help with this process.
One program which you may not previously been aware of is the Employee Retention Credit or ERC. The ERC is a federal government stimulus program designed to help businesses who retained their employees during the pandemic. As is the case with most federal programs the rules and complex tax code and qualifications has left this opportunity for small businesses very underutilized. Details of the program include:
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ERC qualifications
While the general qualifications for the ERC program seem simple, the interpretation of each qualification is very complex. Our significant experience allows us to ensure we maximize any qualifications that may be available to your company.
A government authority required partial or full shutdown of your business during 2020 or 2021. This includes your operations being limited by commerce, inability to travel, or restrictions of group meetings.
Gross receipt reduction criteria are different for 2020 and 2021 but are measured against the current quarter as compared to 2019 pre-COVID amounts.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. This is not a loan. It's a refundable tax credit. When we file your ERC claim we request a refund check for you.
Our service charge is based on a percentage of the credit recovered. We calculate and provide our fee with our free analysis. Since we are typically able to recover 10-20% more than someone less familiar with the program, our fee is very affordable. Just like a good CPA, using the right team for this process pays for itself.
Of course. The challenge is the ERC credit is taken on your payroll returns and not through your business income tax returns, which is what most CPA's handle. Because of this most CPA's don't process this credit, unless they process your payroll in house. This is also a big reason why this credit is so underutilized. Since CPA's don't typically handle it and they are the tax experts, it has mostly fallen in a middle ground where few are able to effectively process the credit. Interestingly, we receive a large portion of our clients from CPA's.
At Fast ERC Solutions we have decades of payroll experience, which has allowed us to specifically focus to understanding and maximizing the ERC program. In our experience we have found that due to the complexity (the ERC tax code is over 200 pages) and time investment necessary to understand the ERC program, very few are able to effectively maximize this credit for your business.
Yes. The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, enacted December 27, 2020, modified the ERC credit rules. One of the modifications included allowing a company to have a PPP loan and still take advantage of the ERC credit. However, you can't use the same dollar for dollar funds. We take this into account when processing your ERC credit.
Yes! There are two possible qualifications for 2020: revenue reduction, or a "full or partial shutdown of your business due to COVID-19". Specifically the IRS describes this as "A government authority required partial or full shutdown of your business during 2020 or 2021. This includes your operations being limited by commerce, inability to travel or restrictions of group meetings." Below are several examples of qualifying events:
Example 1: A restaurant must close or limit its on-site dining. Such as having to close down every other table, due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Example 2: A business that needs to meet with clients in person and has to cancel meetings due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Example 3: A business has to reduce their operating hours because COVID-19 restrictions and cleaning requirements.
Example 4: A business had delayed production timelines caused by supply chain disruptions.
Example 5: A business with a planned event has to cancel that event, or restrict the amount of people who can attend due to COVID-19 restrictions.
This is not a lending program - tax refunds are issued by the US Treasury. Therefore, all eligible employers will receive the funds.
We understand your refund check may not arrive for several months (20 weeks minimum according to IRS documentation), so we offer two payment options - you may pay your fee upfront at a discount - or - the full fee can be deducted from your refund once received. Upfront payments can be completed by credit card. Regardless our fee is covered by our 100% Money Back Guarantee. If the IRS does not release the credit claimed for any reason, we will refund any payments made.
Remember that this program is taken according to payroll taxes paid, not on income taxes. ERC funds not applied towards owed payroll taxes are treated as an 'overdeposit' of taxes that will be requested as a refund check from the IRS.
Maybe. Wages of owners who have majority ownership, defined as over 50%, do not qualify, nor do the W2 wages of any immediate family members of the owner. In the case an owner has less than 50% ownership, their W2 wages qualify, as do the W2 wages paid to immediate family members.
No, if you are majority owner (over 50%) of your company then your wages do not qualify.
This is how the process works: you send us the required documents and we process an analysis at no charge. The process from start to finish usually happens in 2-3 weeks. If you wish to move forward, you will select your desired payment option and we file your claim. Once filed, refunds are released based on IRS backlog. Currently, the IRS has stipulated a 20 week minimum turnaround on the ERC refunds.
The ERC credit is not considered income for federal income tax purposes, but you must reduce any deductible wage expenses by the amount of the credit. Please provide the credit information to your CPA for tax purposes.