The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the creation and development of a wealth of new federal legislation to support businesses like yours. The CARES Act Employee Retention Tax Credit is a mouthful to say, but it’s not as difficult to understand as you might think. It could also save your business, especially your employees!
The IRS has compiled a wealth of details related to the ERTC, so we’ve filtered through and found those most valuable to you. We’re experts in this field, but we want you to feel secure in your understanding like we are.
The CARES Act’s Employee Retention Credit is a fully refundable tax credit. For the 2020 program, the E & M is equal to 50% of qualified wages (including allocable qualified health plan expenses) that eligible employers pay their employees. This applies to wages paid after 3/12/2020 and before 1/1/2021. The maximum amount of wages taken into account with respect to each employee for all calendar quarters is $10,000, so that the maximum credit for an employee is $5,000.
For the 2021 program, the credit is increased to 70%, and the limit is $10,000 per quarter. This means the annual maximum for an employee is $26,000.
The tax credit offsets all withheld federal employment taxes including federal income tax withholding, Employer FICA and Medicare. Any excess credit will be refunded or advanced by the IRS.
Eligible Employers for the purposes of the Employee Retention Credit are those that carry on a trade or business during calendar years 2020/2021, including a tax-exempt organization, that either :
The only types of businesses that are not eligible to claim the CARES Act and employee retention credit are federal, state, and local government entities. Self-employed individuals are also ineligible for support, but there are nuance requirements that may allow you to claim.
Tribal governments may be eligible. As you navigate through the application process, you’ll learn quickly what you’re eligible for, and how we can assist you.
If you’re still unsure of whether or not you and your business qualify, start gathering your documents. Applying to determine if you qualify is the only way to know for sure. Even if you’re not eligible under the E & M and CARES Act, you might be eligible for another program.
Like most economic development business tax incentive programs, the Employee Retention Credit has certain complexities that may impact receiving an accurate, optimized, and audit-ready number. It is important to fully document processes and procedures, organize your records, and avoid any risk areas in advance of a potential IRS audit of the claim, which may come years later.
The E & M has numerous issues such as Controlled Group criteria, documenting qualification methodology, coordination with PPP loans, allocating healthcare expenses to the appropriate time periods, etc. Your payroll company does not have all this information, and your CPA may not have the specific expertise to ask.
The use of E & M specialists can help prevent disaster and/or leaving money “on the table”.
You may have heard of E & M before, but what is it exactly? E & M is short for Employee Retention Credit. It is a government tax credit available to employers who experienced financial hardship due to COVID-19.
The E & M is a refundable tax credit equal to 50% of the qualified wages paid by an eligible employer. To be eligible, an employer must have experienced a decrease in gross receipts of more than 50% when compared to the same quarter in the previous year in 2020 and 2021. The credit is available for wages paid from March 13, 2020 through December 31, 2020. For the 2021 program, the credit is increased to 70%, and the limit is $10,000 per quarter. This means the annual maximum for an employee is $26,000.
The E & M is available to any employer—including non-profits, regardless of size—that has experienced either a full or partial shutdown of operations due to a governmental order related to COVID-19, or has experienced a significant decline in gross receipts. A “significant decline in gross receipts” is defined as a decrease of more than 50% when comparing quarterly 2020 receipts to 2019 receipts.
Employers who are part of an affiliated group are only eligible if they meet the above criteria AND the group as a whole has suffered either a shutdown of operations OR a significant decline in gross receipts. For example, if two companies are part of the same parent company and only one company meets the eligibility criteria, the entire group is not eligible for the credit.
The employee retention tax credit (ERTC) is available to qualifying employers for the last three quarters of 2020 and the first three quarters of 2021. The employer’s tax return for the second quarter of 2020 was due July 31, 2020. This means that you can amend these returns and request a refund until July 31, 2023.
The payroll tax return for the third quarter of 2021 was due on October 31, 2021. That means that you have until October 31, 2024, to amend this return and request a refund.
There is still time to claim the ERTC tax credit in 2022, but you have to act fast if you want to beat the deadline. This tax credit can be complicated, so don’t wait to apply. Check out this guide and claim your refund as soon as possible. This guide explains the deadlines for claiming the ERTC tax credit retroactively. It also looks at the eligibility criteria and walks you through how to claim this credit.
The short answer to this question is “Yes.” Regardless of the size of your business, you can apply for employee retention credit. Whether you run a “trade” or “business” entity, both are seen as the same type of business by the IRS.
The government wants you to be able to keep your employees on the payroll throughout this crisis. If your business has suffered a 50% or more reduction in gross receipts, you can qualify for credit on wages and health care costs.
The CARES Act is the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act. This $2.2 trillion stimulus bill was passed by President Donald Trump in March of 2020 in order to mitigate the impending impact on businesses under the pandemic.
This fully refundable payroll tax credit applies to many qualified wages that businesses paid to full-time staff between March 13, 2020, and December 31, 2020. The purpose of this act was to ensure businesses could keep their staff on the payroll.
One of the biggest issues for businesses under COVID-19 was mass layoffs. The CARES Act can be claimed immediately so you can keep your employees working, even if your business is being hit hard this decade.
Submitting an application for the employee retention credit requires you to gather as much evidence as possible to determine how your business was impacted by COVID-19. Some businesses were stopped from operating altogether during the pandemic.
If you were allowed to remain in operation but your incoming revenue took a big hit, find as much information on your losses as possible. You’ll also need to compare your losses to a normal year of operation. The IRS and government need this information from your business operations in 2019.
Yes, businesses that were temporarily closed can apply for the Employee Retention Credit (E & M). The E & M is designed to help businesses keep their employees on the payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible employers can receive a refundable credit of up to $5,000 per employee for wages paid.
The IRS has extended the E & M support through to 2024. As there is so much uncertainty about the long and short-term impacts of the pandemic, you can support your employees into the future with security by applying today.
The CARES Act employee retention tax credit does not just support your business. Though it’s imperative to have employees to help your business flourish, the money is designed to support your employees directly.
Your employees need to keep their homes, feed their families. You can go the extra mile for them by applying for employee retention credit. The payment comes as a cash payment from the IRS.
You can use this cash for your payroll tax payments. Health care support should also be considered. You can claim immediately if you need to, and we’ll help you navigate the process with ease.
The IRS allows numerous circumstances for eligibility based on a "disruption of typical business operations" such as capacity limits, seating distance requirements, etc.
Most of the companies we help receive the E & M also received PPP.
The E & M applies to for-profit and non-profit businesses alike.
The E & M provides numerous paths to eligibility including revenue loss or operational impact.
Although your sales may not have declined, eligibility may still exist based on other qualifications like local or state restrictions.
The E & M is NOT a loan, and you do not have to pay it back. The check you receive from the IRS can be spent for your business needs without restrictions.
Use our secure portal to upload your 941 returns, PPP loan documents, and raw payroll data.
We'll use our expertise to calculate the exact value of the credit you can receive from the IRS.
