Amending 941 For Employee Retention Credit

Many businesses and organizations have faced unprecedented hardships and challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many employers faced decreased revenues, increased costs, and disruptions of operations as a result of lockdowns.

In order to help employers retain employees and offer them health benefits in this tough time, the U.S. Government has introduced the Employee retention credit (ERC), which is a tax credit refundable that can be used by eligible employers to offset some payroll costs.

The ERC, which was originally enacted in 2020 by the CARES Act, was extended and modified later by subsequent legislation in both 2021 & 2023. This article will describe what the ERC does, how it operates, and explain how to claim it.

For a brief reading of what the Employee Retention Credit or ERC is, take a look at this video from the YouTube channel “ERC Specialists”. You can also continue below to read an in-depth explanation of ERC.

What is Employee Retention Credit (ERC)? Amending 941 For Employee Retention Credit

Employee Retention Credit is a tax credit that can be refunded to businesses and tax-exempt organizations who had employees affected by COVID-19. The ERC was created by the CARES Act in 2020 and was extended and modified by subsequent legislation in 2021 and 2023. The ERC was created to encourage employers in crisis to keep workers on their payrolls and provide them health insurance.

Main Features and Benefits

Credit is a fixed percentage of qualifying wages and health care costs paid by employers to employees.
The credit limit and percentage are dependent on the period of time for which you claim the credit. For 2020 the percentage is set at 50%, while the maximum per employee is set at $5,000. For 2021, there is a 70% percentage and a limit of $7,000 per employee per quarter. In 2023, 70% of the employees will be eligible for the first two quarterly limits and 40% in the final two. The limit for each employee is $10,000. Amending 941 For Employee Retention Credit
The credit is fully refundable. If the amount of credit exceeds an employer’s liability for payroll tax, the excess will then be paid back to the employer.
The credit is available to employers who suffered a significant reduction in gross revenues or a partial or full suspension of operations because of an eligible government order relating COVID-19. For 2023 only, employers that are classified as recovery startup business can claim the credit.
Credits can be claimed either by amending your employment tax return (Form 941)-X or by reducing your employment tax deposit in anticipation of receiving the credit. By submitting Form 7020, employers can request an early payment of their credit.

> > Click Here to Find Out if You are Eligible for ERC < <

Eligibility Criteria

In order to qualify for Employee Recruitment Credit (ERC), a company must meet the following criteria:

The employer’s business or organization was fully or partially suspended by a government order due to COVID-19 during a calendar quarter in 2020 or 2021
Employer’s gross receipts in a calendar quarter of 2020 or 2021 was less than 50% or 80% of the gross receipts in the same quarter in 2019.

A special rule is in place for businesses that have started operating after February 15, 2020, and whose average gross receipts per year are no more than one million dollars. These businesses can be eligible for ERC regardless of their revenue decline or suspension.

Business Suspension

A government order will either fully or partially suspend an organization or business if:

The order limits commerce, travel, or group meetings due to COVID-19
The order has an impact on the business or organization
The order will apply to any calendar month in 2020 or even 2021

These are some examples:

Stay-at-home orders restricting non-essential business operations
Certain businesses are subject to curfews which limit their hours of operation
Limits in capacity that restrict the number or clients that a business can serve
Travel restrictions or bans that impact the ability of an organization to transport goods and services

Employers must take into account the following to determine whether a business has been suspended in full or in part by an order of government:

The scope and nature of the order as well as how it impacts the business.
The length and frequency of your order and the way it corresponds to the calendar quarters
The extent and severity of the impact of the order on the revenues and expenses of the business

Revenue Drop

A business or organization is considered to have experienced a significant decline in gross receipts if:

The gross receipts of any calendar quarter in 2020 are less than half the gross receipts of the same quarter in 2019.
The gross receipts for any calendar quarter in 2021 were less than 80% of its gross receipts for the same quarter in 2019

Gross receipts refer to the total of all money received or accrued during a company’s annual accounting period. Gross receipts are:

Sales of goods & services
Interest, dividends rents royalties and annuities
Gifts, donations, and contributions Amending 941 For Employee Retention Credit
Membership dues
Gross profits from trades and businesses

To calculate and compare gross revenue for different quarters using the following:

Use the same method (cash or accrual accounting) as it used when filing its federal income taxes for 2019
The same calendar year quarters that it used to file its federal employment tax returns (Form 941) for 2019 and 2020/2021
It is the same income sources that were reported on the federal income tax returns for 2019.

Recovery Startup Business

Recovery startup businesses are those that:

After February 15, 2020, you can start any business or trade.
Average annual gross receipts not exceeding $1 million during the three-year period ending on the tax year immediately preceding the calendar quarterly for which the credit will be determined

The ERC is available to a recovery startup business regardless of whether or not it meets the criteria for business suspension or revenue decrease. Recovery startups are not exempt from certain rules and restrictions.

The maximum credit available per quarter is $50,000
The credit is only available for wages paid in the third and fourth quarters of 2021
The maximum credit available for startup businesses is $250 million.

> > Click Here to Find Out if You are Eligible for ERC < <

Credit Amount and Calculation

ERCs have different rules and amounts depending on the length of time and type of employer. The ERC is affected primarily by:

How much of the employer’s income was affected in 2019 by the pandemic.
How many employees an employer had in 2019, 2020/2021 or whether they worked, or did not work during the pandemic
How much did the employer pay each employee in health insurance?

Employers must complete and send IRS forms to claim ERC. The forms have to show how much the employer paid to their employees and their health insurance and why they qualify for the ERC. The IRS will review the forms and pay the money back to the employer. The employer may use the money in order to pay their employees’ health insurance premiums, or get refunds for their payroll tax.

The ERC won’t be around forever. The ERC started in March 2020 and ends in September 2022. The employer must claim ERC before the expiration date or when it becomes unavailable. The employer also has to use the money wisely and not waste it. Amending 941 For Employee Retention Credit

The following information provides more details on the ERC credit and how it is calculated.

Time Period

The ERC has been introduced, modified, and terminated in different laws between 2020 and 2021. The credit amount varies depending on the time period for which it is claimed. The following table summarises the main features and differences between the ERCs of each time period:

Time Period	Law	Eligible Employers	Credit Rate	Qualified Wages
2020	CARES Act	Employers with business suspension or revenue decline of more than 50%	50% of qualified wages up to $10,000 per employee per year	Wages paid from March 13 to December 31, 2020
Q1-Q3 2021	CAA and ARPA	Employers with business suspension or revenue decline of more than 20%	70% of qualified wages up to $10,000 per employee per quarter	Wages paid from January 1 to September 30, 2021
Q3-Q4 2021 (Recovery Startup Business)	ARPA	Recovery startup businesses with average annual gross receipts of no more than $1 million,	70% of qualified wages up to $10,000 per employee per quarter (subject to a $50,000 cap per quarter),	Wages paid from July 1 to December 31, 2021,
Q4 2021 – Q3 2022 (Severely Financially Distressed Employer)	ARPA and IIJA	Employers with a revenue decline of more than 90%	70% of qualified wages up to $10,000 per employee per quarter	Wages paid from October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022

Number of Employees

The number of eligible employees will affect the calculation and definition of health insurance and qualified wages. An employer is considered a small or large employer depending on the time period and the number of full-time employees (FTEs) it had in 2019. The table below summarizes all the rules and thresholds that determine an employer’s size.

Time Period	Small Employer Threshold	Large Employer Threshold
2020	Less than or equal to 100 FTEs in 2019	More than 100 FTEs in 2019
Q1-Q2 2021	Less than or equal to 500 FTEs in 2019	More than 500 FTEs in 2019
Q3-Q4 2021	Less than or equal to 500 FTEs in any calendar quarter in either calendar year beginning after December 31, 2019, and ending before July 1, 2021. If an employer did not have in either calendar year beginning after December 31, 2019, and ending before July 1, 2021, the employer is treated as a small eligible employer if it had less than or equal to 500 FTEs in any calendar quarter beginning after June 30, 2021. For recovery startup businesses, the employer size is irrelevant. For severely financially distressed employers, the employer size is irrelevant if the employer had a revenue decline of more than 90%. Otherwise, the same rules as Q1-Q2 2021 apply.	More than 500 FTEs in any calendar quarter in either calendar year beginning after December 31, 2019, and ending before July 1, 2021. If an employer did not exist in either calendar year beginning after December 31, 2019, and ending before July 1, 2021, the employer is treated as a large eligible employer if it had more than 500 FTEs in any calendar quarter beginning after June 30, 2021.

To count FTEs for a given year or quarter, an employer must use the following steps:

Count the number of employees who worked at least 30 hours per week (or at least 130 hours per month) for each month in the year or quarter
Add up the total hours worked by all other employees (who are not counted as FTEs) for each month in the year or quarter
Divide the total hours by120and round down to the nearest whole number
Add the number of FTEs from Step One and Step Three for each month in the year or quarter
Calculate the average number of FTEs by adding up the monthly totals and dividing by 12 (for a year) or 3 (for a quarter)

Qualified Wages and Health Insurance Costs

Qualified wages are wages paid to eligible employees during a period of business suspension or revenue decline. Qualified wages can include severance payment, bonuses, severance tips, sick pay, family pay and other forms compensation. Qualified wage also includes the cost of health insurance for eligible employees. This may include premiums, deductibles, co-pays, or co-insurance.

The calculation and definition of health insurance and qualified wages are dependent on the size of the employer and the time period. The following table summarizes the rules and examples for different scenarios: Amending 941 For Employee Retention Credit

Employer Size	Time Period	Qualified Wages and Health Insurance Costs	Example
Small	2020	All wages and health insurance costs paid to any employee, regardless of whether the employee worked or not	An employer with 80 FTEs in 2019 paid $8,000 in wages and $2,000 in health insurance costs to an employee in 2020. The employer had a revenue decline of more than 50% in Q2 2020. The qualified wages and health insurance costs for Q2 2020 are $10,000.
Small	Q1-Q3 2021	All wages and health insurance costs paid to any employee, regardless of whether the employee worked or not	An employer with 400 FTEs in 2019 paid $12,000 in wages and $3,000 in health insurance costs to an employee in Q1 2021. The employer had a revenue decline of more than 20% in Q1 2021. The qualified wages and health insurance costs for Q1 2021 are $15,000.
Small	Q3-Q4 2021 (Recovery Startup Business)	All wages and health insurance costs paid to any employee, regardless of whether the employee worked or not (subject to a $50,000 cap per quarter)	A recovery startup business that began operations in March 2020 paid $9,000 in wages and $1,000 in health insurance costs to an employee in Q3 2021. The business had average annual gross receipts of $800,000. The qualified wages and health insurance costs for Q3 2021 are $10,000.
Small	Q4 2021 – Q3 2022 (Severely Financially Distressed Employer)	All wages and health insurance costs paid to any employee, regardless of whether the employee worked or not	An employer with 600 FTEs in Q2 2019 paid $11,000 in wages and $4,000 in health insurance costs to an employee in Q4 2021. The employer had a revenue decline of more than 90% in Q4 2021. The qualified wages and health insurance costs for Q4 2021 are $15,000.
Large	2020	Wages and health insurance costs paid to an employee for the time that the employee did not work (up to the amount that the employee would have been paid for working an equivalent duration during the 30 days immediately preceding the period of economic hardship)	An employer with 120 FTEs in 2019 paid $10,000 in wages and $2,000 in health insurance costs to an employee who worked full-time (40 hours per week) in 2020. The employer had a business suspension due to a government order in April 2020. The employee did not work for two weeks in April 2020. The qualified wages and health insurance costs for April 2020 are $2,308 ($10,000 x2/52+$2,000 x2/52).
Large	Q1-Q3 2021	Wages and health insurance costs paid to an employee for the time that the employee did not work (up to the amount that the employee would have been paid for working an equivalent duration during the 90 days immediately preceding the period of economic hardship)	An employer with 550 FTEs in 2019 paid $15,000 in wages and $5,000 in health insurance costs to an employee who worked full-time (40 hours per week) in Q1 2021. The employer had a revenue decline of more than 20% in Q1 2021. The employee did not work for three weeks in Q1 2021. The qualified wages and health insurance costs for Q1 2021 are $5,769 ($15,000 x3/13+$5,000 x3/13).
Large	Q3-Q4 2021 (Severely Financially Distressed Employer)	All wages and health insurance costs paid to any employee, regardless of whether the employee worked or not (only if the employer had a revenue decline of more than 90%. Otherwise, the same rules as Q1-Q32021 apply.)	An employer with 700 FTEs in Q4 2019 paid $12,000 in wages and $6,000 in health insurance costs to an employee who worked full-time (40 hours per week) in Q4 2021. The employer had a revenue decline of more than 90% in Q4 2021. The qualified wages and health insurance costs

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Claim the Credit and Report It

To claim the Employees Retention Credit, an employer must file with the Internal Revenue Service a federal Employment Tax Return (Form941) or a adjusted Employment Tax return (Form941X). The employer must report the qualified wages and health insurance costs paid to eligible employees and the amount of credit claimed for each quarter.

Form 941

Form 941 is used to report the employer’s quarterly federal tax liability, including income tax, social security tax, and Medicare tax. The employer can also claim the ERC in Form 941 for future or current quarters. The employer can use the Form 941 for:

ERCs can be used to reduce the amount of tax that an employer must pay to the IRS.
If the ERC is greater than the tax that the employer must deposit, you can request an advance payment. Amending 941 For Employee Retention Credit
Carry forward any excess credit to subsequent quarters

To fill out Form 941 correctly and avoid common errors, the employer should:

Use the latest version of Form 941 that reflects the changes and updates made by the laws that affect the ERC
The IRS has provided worksheets to help you calculate the ERC.
Use Line 1c to report on the health insurance and wages that eligible employees have received.
Report the amount of credit claimed each quarter using Line 13d.
Use Line 13f to declare any advance payments received from the IRS.
Use Line 24 to request an advance payment of the credit if needed
Report any credit balance that may be carried forward into the next quarter using Line 25
Sign and date Form 941, attaching any supporting documents, schedules, or schedules.

Tips and resources on how to complete Form 941 include:

Use electronic filing (e-file) or online services to submit Form 941 faster and more securely
The IRS website has updated FAQs on the ERC and Form 941.
Need clarification? Contact an IRS agent or tax professional.

Form 941-X

The Form 941 X is used for corrections and adjustments to a Form 941. Form 941 X also allows for the employer to claim ERC retroactively. Employers can use Form 941/X for Amending 941 For Employee Retention Credit

Claim a credit or refund for the taxes you overpaid by claiming ERC
Report additional qualified earnings and health benefits paid to eligible employee that weren’t reported on Form 941.
Correct any errors or omissions you find on Form 941, which may affect your credit claim.

Employers can avoid common mistakes by filling in Form 941X correctly.

Use the latest version of Form 941-X that reflects the changes and updates made by the laws that affect the ERC
Use the IRS worksheets and instructions to calculate and report the ERC
Use Part 2 for indicating which lines of the Form 941 need to be corrected or adjusted
Use Part 3 for explaining why form 941 has been corrected or adjusted
Use Line 24 to report any additional qualified wages and health insurance costs paid to eligible employees
Line 25 should be used to declare any additional amount claimed as a credit each quarter
Use Line 26 for any refunds or credits due to ERC claims.
Sign and date Form 941, and attach any supporting documentation or schedules

Here are some tips and resources to help you fill out Form 941X:

Filter a separate Form 941/X for every quarter that needs to be corrected or adjusted Amending 941 For Employee Retention Credit
Fill out Form 941-X immediately after you find an error in Form 941
Check the IRS website for updates, FAQs, and guidance on Form 941-X and the ERC
You can also contact a tax expert or the IRS for clarification or additional assistance.

Deadline and Statute of Limitations

Form 941 must be filed by the last date of the month that follows the end each quarter. For Q1 2021 (January-March), the Form 941 must be filed by April 30th, 2021. The employer can still file Form 941 if they have deposited their taxes on time. Following the end of the quarter. For example, for Q1 2021 (January-March), Form 941 is due by May 10, 2021, Amending 941 For Employee Retention Credit

Form 941X must be filed within three years of the original filing date or two from the payment date, whichever comes later. For Q1 2020 (January – March), for example, Form 941 is due on April 30, 2020. If an employer submitted Forms 941 on 30 April 2020 and the tax was paid on 30 April 2020, it is now April 2023 before they can file Forms 941-X. If an employer files Form 941 in April 2020 and pays the tax on June 15 2020, they have until June 15 2022 to file Form 941.

> > Click Here to Find Out if You are Eligible for ERC < <

Conclusion

Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERC), is a valuable financial benefit that helps employers to keep their employees employed and reduces the impact COVID-19 has on their organization or business.

The ERC is a refundable tax credit that varies depending on the time period, the number of employees, and the amount of qualified wages and health insurance costs paid to eligible employees. The ERC is claimed by filing IRS Form 941 or 941-X and reporting qualified wages, health insurance costs, and the credit amount claimed for each quarter.

This tax benefit is available to employers who meet the ERC’s eligibility criteria. The ERC does not last forever. It has a deadline, and there is a statute of limitations for claiming the ERC. You should file your forms as soon as possible and use the tips and resources provided in this article to fill them out correctly and avoid common errors. If needed, you can also reach out to the IRS or a professional tax advisor for clarification or help.

ERCs can be a huge help to your organization or business and its employees. It can help you retain your workers, maintain your cash flow, and recover from the pandemic. This article is intended to help you better understand the ERC, and how it can be claimed. Thank you for reading. Stay safe.

> > Click Here to Find Out if You are Eligible for ERC < <

Amending 941 For Employee Retention Credit

What is ERC?

Employee Retention Credit: This is a credit that employers can claim if they retained employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was created in March of 2020 by the CARES Act and later extended and amended by the CAA Act of December 2020 (Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021).

Can everyone apply for ERC?

ERC eligibility is not universal. Only employers who paid wages and retained employees between March 13, 2019, and December 31, 2020, are eligible.

The criteria for eligibility is also listed above. For the highlights, please see:

A government order has suspended the business or organization (wholly or partially) due to COVID-19.
Their gross revenues for a quarter calendar in 2020 or in 2021 were lower than a percentage compared to their gross revenues for the same period in 2019.
It is a recovery-startup business that has been operating since after February 15, 2020. Their average annual gross receipts are no more than one million dollars.

How much does the ERC cost?

The amount ERC received by a business or organization will depend upon several factors.

Some of these include the time period and number of employees. Others are the amount paid in qualified wages or health insurance to eligible employees. For a detailed explanation of ERC, you can read the article mentioned above.

How do I claim my ERC?

For an employer to claim the ERC, they must file either a federal reform of employment tax or an amended employment tax return (941-X).

Employers are required to report each quarter the total amount claimed as a credit and the wages and insurance premiums paid by eligible employees.

When is the deadline to submit the ERC form?

The deadlines of Form 941, Form 941X and ERC 941 are different.

The deadline for Form 941 is usually the last day in the month after the end of every quarter. For Form 941X, the deadline is three years following the date on which the original form 941 was filed. The deadline can be two years after the date the tax was paid. However, the latter date is preferred.