Employee Retention Credit Notice

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented challenges and hardships for many businesses and organizations around the world. Many employers faced decreased revenues, increased costs, and disruptions of operations as a result of lockdowns.

To help employers retain their employees and provide them with health benefits during this difficult time, the U.S. government has introduced the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), a refundable tax credit that can offset some of the payroll costs for eligible employers.

The ERC first became law in 2020 with the CARES Act. It was then extended and modified in subsequent legislations in 2021 and 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)? Employee Retention Credit Notice

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is a refundable tax credit for businesses and tax-exempt organizations that had employees and were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ERC is a refundable tax credit that was created by 2020’s CARES Act and has been extended and changed by subsequent legislations of 2021 and 2023. The ERC is designed to encourage employers to retain their employees and offer them health benefits in times of crisis.

Main Features and Benefits

Credits are equal to a percent of the qualified wages and costs for health insurance paid to eligible employees up to a limit per employee each quarter.
The percentage and limit will vary depending on when the credit is claimed. In 2020, the 50% percentage and $5,000 limit per employee is applicable for the entire calendar year. For 2021, the percentage is 70%, and the limit is $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. Employee Retention Credit Notice
The credit amount is fully refundable, meaning if the credit exceeds your employer’s tax liability on payroll, you will receive the excess as a reimbursement.
Employers can claim this credit if they experienced a significant decrease in gross receipts due to an order from the government relating to COVID-19. Employers who are considered to be recovery startup businesses may also claim this credit, but only for 2023.
Credits are available by submitting an amended employment return (Form 951) or by reducing deposits for employment taxes in anticipation. The credit can be requested in advance by employers using Form 7200.

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Eligibility Criteria

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

The employer’s business or organisation was suspended in whole or in part by a government decree due to the COVID-19, during a quarter calendar of 2020 or 21
The employer’s gross receipts for a calendar quarter in 2020 or 2021 were less than 50% (for 2020) or 80% (for 2021) of its gross receipts for 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 qualify for ERC despite business suspensions or revenue decreases.

Business Suspension

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

The order prohibits travel, group meetings, and commerce due to COVID-19
The order impacts the operations of a business or organization
The order applies to all calendar quarters in 2020 and 2021

Here are some examples of government orders that can result in a business being suspended:

Stay-at-home orders restricting non-essential business operations
Curfews that limit the hours of operation for certain businesses
Limits on the capacity of a business that limit how many customers or clients it can serve
Travel bans or restrictions that affect the ability of a business to transport goods or services

An employer should consider the following factors to determine if an order from a government has suspended a business in its entirety or only partially.

The nature and extent of the order, and its impact on the operation of your business
The order’s duration, frequency, and alignment with the calendar quarters
The magnitude and impact of the order upon the revenue and expenses of a business

Revenue Decline

It is considered that a business or organization has experienced a significant drop in gross receipts when:

The gross revenue for any calendar-quarter in 2020 was less than 50 percent of the gross revenues for the same period in 2019.
The gross receipts of any quarter in calendar 2021 were below 80% of the gross receipts in the same quarter for 2019.

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

Sales of goods & services
Dividends (rents), royalties and interest
Contributions, gifts, grants, and donations Employee Retention Credit Notice
Membership fees and dues
Gross business income

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

The same method for accounting (cash-based or accrual-based) that was used to file the federal income Tax return for 2019
For 2019 and 2020/2021, the same quarters of the calendar year that were used for filing federal employment tax returns on Form 941.
The same sources of income that it reported on its federal income tax return for 2019

Recovery Startup Business

Recovery startup businesses are those that:

Start any new business or occupation after February 15, 2019,
Have average annual gross income of no more than $1 million over the three-year period ending the tax year before the calendar quarter in which the credit is determined

It does not matter if a business meets the criteria of revenue decline or business suspension, a recovery-startup business qualifies for the ERC. Recovery startup businesses are subject to certain restrictions and special rules.

The maximum amount of credit per quarter is $50,000
The credit will only be available to employees who have paid wages in the third quarter and fourth of 2021
The credit is subject to an overall cap of $250 million for all recovery startup businesses

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Credit Amount and Calculation

ERCs have different rules and amounts depending on the length of time and type of employer. The ERC is primarily affected 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 the employer paid to each employee and their health insurance during the pandemic

To receive the ERC, employers must submit forms to the IRS. The forms must include the total amount paid by the employer to employees, their health insurance coverage and the reasons why they are eligible for the ERC. The IRS will review the forms and pay the money back to the employer. The employer can use the money to pay their employees and their health insurance or to get refunds or credits for their payroll taxes.

The ERC will not be available indefinitely. 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 has to spend the money efficiently and not waste. Employee Retention Credit Notice

You can find more information below on ERC calculation and credit amount.

Time Period

The ERC was implemented, amended, or terminated by various laws in 2020. The amount of the credit varies according to the time period that it is applied for. 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. A small employer or a large employer is determined by the number of employees who worked full-time (FTEs) in 2019 and the time period. The table below summarizes the rules and thresholds for determining employer size in each time period.

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 wage is the number of wages that are paid to employees who qualify during a time when a business has been suspended or revenue has decreased. The list of qualified wages includes tips, bonuses, commissions, and severance payments, as well as sick leave, family leave, severance, and other compensation. Qualified wages include health insurance costs for eligible employees such as co-pays and deductibles.

The size of an employer’s business and the period in which they operate will determine the definition and calculation for qualified wages and health care costs. Table 1 summarizes and gives examples of rules in various scenarios. Employee Retention Credit Notice

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

For the Internal Revenue Service to grant the Employee Retention credit (ERC), employers must file either a federal tax return for employment (Form 941), or an amended tax return for employment (Form941-X). The employer is required to report the qualified wages, health insurance costs and credit claimed by each quarter.

Form 941

Form 941 reports the quarterly federal tax liability of an employer, including income tax and Medicare taxes. Form 941 allows the employer also to claim ERCs in current or future quarters. Form 941 is used by employers to:

ERC – Reduce the amount the employer is required to pay in taxes.
You can ask for advance payment if your ERC exceeds the amount of taxes you have to pay. Employee Retention Credit Notice
Carry over any excess credit into the following quarter

To avoid making common errors and fill out Form 941 correctly, employers should:

Use the newest version of the Form 941, which reflects changes to laws that impact 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.
Use Line 13d to report the amount of credit claimed for each quarter
Line 13f is used to report any advance payment of credit received by the IRS
Use Line 24 to request an advance payment of the credit if needed
Line 25 is the place to enter any excess credit which can be carried to a subsequent quarter.
Sign and date Form 941, attaching any supporting documents, schedules, or schedules.

Tips and resources on how to complete Form 941 include:

Form 941 can be submitted faster and more securely by using electronic filing (efile) or online services
The IRS website has updated FAQs on the ERC and Form 941.
Contact the IRS or a tax professional for assistance or clarification if needed

Form 941-X

The Form 941X can be used to make corrections or adjustments on an earlier Form 941. Form 941 X also allows for the employer to claim ERC retroactively. Form 941-X can be used by the employer to: Employee Retention Credit Notice

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.
You can correct any errors or omissions that may have affected the credit claimed amount on Form 941.

The employer should:

Use the latest form 941X that reflects changes to laws that are applicable to the ERC.
Follow the instructions and worksheets provided by the IRS for calculating and reporting the ERC
Use the Part 2 to indicate on which lines you are correcting or adjusting Form 941
Use Part 3 of Form 941 to explain why it is being amended or corrected
Line 24 should be used to record any additional health insurance and wages paid to employees who qualify.
Use Line 25 to report any additional amount of credit claimed for each quarter
Use Line 26 when reporting any refund or credit that you have requested as a result of claiming your ERC
Sign and date the Form 941 X and add any supporting documents or schedules.

You can find some helpful tips on how to fill out the Form 941-X here:

File a separate Form 941-X for each quarter that is being corrected or adjusted Employee Retention Credit Notice
You should fill out Form 941/X as quickly as possible after you have made an adjustment or discovered an error.
The IRS website has updated FAQs on the ERC, Form 941 X, and updates to the IRS website.
Need clarification? Contact an IRS agent or tax professional.

Deadline and Statute of Limitations

The deadline for filing Form 941 is generally the last day of the month following the end of each quarter. For example, Form 941 for Q1 of 2021 (January to March) is due April 30, 2020. In the event that an employer has deposited the taxes due on time for a particular quarter, Form 941 can be filed by the 10th date of the following month. After the end of the quarterly period. For example, Q1 2020 (January to March) requires that Form 941 be returned by May 10, 2021. Employee Retention Credit Notice

The deadline to file Form 941-X generally is three years after the date the original Form 941 is filed, or two years after the date the tax is paid. For example, for Q1 2020 (January-March), Form 941 was due by April 30, 2020. If an employer filed Form 941 on April 30, 2020, and paid the tax on April 30, 2020, the deadline for filing Form 941-X is April 30, 2023. If an employee filed Form 941 April 30, 2020 and paid tax June 15, 2020 the deadline for submitting Form 941 X is June 15, 222.

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Conclusion

Employee Retention credit (ERC), a valuable benefit under tax law, can help employers who have been affected by COVID-19 keep their staff on payroll and minimize the impact of pandemic.

The ERC is a refundable tax credit. It varies based on time, number of employees, and amount of wages and health insurance 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.

If you are an employer who meets the eligibility criteria for the ERC, you should not miss this opportunity to take advantage of this tax benefit. The ERC will not be available indefinitely, and it has a set deadline and statute of limitations. 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. You can contact the IRS for help or clarification, or you could consult a tax expert.

ERCs are a powerful tool that can help your company or organization, as well as your employees. It can help your business or organization retain workers, maintain cash flow and recover from a pandemic. This article aims to provide you with more information about the ERC. Thank you for reading. Stay safe.

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Employee Retention Credit Notice

What is the ERC?

Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is a tax incentive for employers that retained their employees on their payrolls 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).

Is everyone eligible for the ERC?

Not everyone is eligible for the ERC. Employers who retained their employees and paid them wages between March 13, 2020, and December 31, 2021, are eligible.

More details are available above. But here are some of the highlights.

The business or organization was suspended (fully or partially) by government order due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Their gross receipts in a quarter of 2020 or 2021 are less than the percentage of their gross revenue in the same quarter of 2019.
They are a recovery startup business that began operations after February 15, 2020, and has average annual gross receipts of no more than $1 million.

How much does the ERC cost?

The amount of ERC an organization or business receives depends on several factors.

Among these factors are the time period, employee count, amount of qualifying wages and health insurance cost paid to eligible workers. You can read the article above for a more detailed explanation of how ERC is calculated.

How to claim ERC?

To claim ERC benefits, an employer needs to file Form 941X or federal employment tax reform with the IRS.

The employer must provide a quarterly report detailing the wages, health insurance and other costs that are eligible for credit as well as the amount claimed.

When is the deadline to submit the ERC form?

The deadlines for filing ERC forms for Forms 941 and form 941 X are different.

The deadline for Form 941 is usually the last day in the month after the end of every quarter. In contrast, the deadline to submit Form 941 X is generally set at three years since the date of the original 941. The deadline can be two years after the date the tax was paid. However, the latter date is preferred.