Employee Retention Tax Credit 2023 Calculation

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented challenges and hardships for many businesses and organizations around the world. Many employers have experienced reduced revenues, higher expenses, and disruptions to their operations because of lockdowns, distancing from social media, and health-and-safety measures.

The Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERC) is a refundable credit that employers can use to offset payroll costs.

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 explain the ERC, how it functions, and how you can 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 the Employee Retention Credit? Employee Retention Tax Credit 2023 Calculation

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 was established by the CARES Act of 2020 and extended and modified in subsequent legislations in 2021 and in 2023. The ERC’s goal is to encourage employers during a crisis to continue to employ their workers, and to offer them health coverage.

Main Features and Benefits

The credit is equal to a percentage of qualified wages and health insurance costs paid to eligible employees, up to a certain limit per employee per quarter.
The percentage and the maximum credit vary depending on how long the credit can be claimed. In 2020, the 50% percentage and $5,000 limit per employee is applicable for the entire calendar year. For 2021, the percentage will be 70%, and the limit per quarter is $7,000 for each employee. For 2023, there is a 70% percentage for the first 2 quarters followed by 40% for the second two quarters. There is a $10,000 limit per employee. Employee Retention Tax Credit 2023 Calculation
The credit is fully refundable, which means that if it exceeds the employer’s payroll tax liability the excess amount will be returned to the employer.
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.
The credit can be claimed by filing an amended employment tax return (Form 941-X) or by reducing employment tax deposits in anticipation of the credit. Employers can request an advance payment by submitting Form 7200.

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Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), an employer must meet one of the following two main criteria:

The employer’s company or organization has been suspended, either fully or partly, by an order of the government due to COVID-19 at a particular calendar quarter in 2020/2021
The employer’s gross revenues for a quarterly calendar period in 2020, 2021 or both were less that 50% (for the 2020 quarter) or 80% (2021 quarter) of its gross revenue for the same year-ago quarter.

The recovery startup rule also applies to businesses that began operating after February 14, 2020 and had average annual gross receipts not exceeding $1 million. These businesses can be eligible for ERC regardless of their revenue decline or suspension.

Business Suspension

An order of the government can suspend a business or an organization in full or part if it:

The order limits travel, commerce or group meetings as a result of COVID-19
The order has a direct impact on the operations of an organization or business
This order is applicable to any calendar quarter of 2020 or 2021

Examples of government orders which can lead to a suspension of business include:

Stay-athome orders restrict non-essential enterprises from operating
Curfews that limit the hours of operation for certain businesses
Capacity limits that reduce the number of customers or clients that can be served by a business
Travel bans or restrictions that affect the ability of a business to transport goods or 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 nature and extent of the order, and its impact on the operation of your business
The duration, frequency of the orders and their alignment with the four quarters calendar.
The impact and magnitude of the order to the business’s revenues and costs

Revenue Decline

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

The gross receipts in any calendar quarter of 2020 will be less than 50% the gross receipts in the same quarter of 2019.
The gross revenue for any quarter of 2021 was less than 80% that for the same period in 2019.

Gross receipts are defined as the total amount received or accrued by a business or organization from all sources during its annual accounting period without any deductions. Gross receipts consist of:

Sales of Goods & Services
Interest, dividends, rents, royalties, and annuities
Contributions are gifts, donations and grants Employee Retention Tax Credit 2023 Calculation
Dues and fees for membership
Gross business income

To compare gross receipts between different quarters of the year, employers must use:

The same method of accounting (cash or accrual) that it used to file its federal income tax return for 2019
It will use the same calendar year quarters for 2019/2021 as it did to file its federal Employment Tax Returns (Form 941).
The same sources of revenue that they reported on their federal income tax return in 2019

Recovery Startup Business

A recovery startup business is a business that:

You must have started your business after the 15th of February 2020
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

A recovery startup business can qualify for the ERC regardless of whether it meets the criteria of business suspension or revenue decline. Recovery startup businesses are subject to certain restrictions and special rules.

The maximum amount of credit per quarter is $50,000
The credit can only be used for wages paid between the third and the fourth quarters of 2020
Credits for recovery startups are subject to a maximum of $250 million.

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Credit Amount and Calculation

For different lengths of time, different types of employers and different amounts of ERC, the ERC has different rules. The main factors that affect the ERC are:

How much the employer’s business was affected by the pandemic, either by having to close or reduce operations due to government orders or by having a big drop in income compared to 2019
Employer’s number of employees in 2019 or 2021, and whether the employee worked or not.
What the employer paid each employee for their health insurance and during the pandemic

To receive the ERC, employers must submit forms to the IRS. The form must show the amount the employer paid for their employees’ health insurance, and how they qualified for the ERC. The IRS will verify the forms, and then give the money to your employer. The money can be used by the employer to pay for health insurance, to pay employees, or refunds on payroll taxes.

The ERC is not available forever. The ERC began in March 2020, and it will end in September 2022. Employers must claim their ERC before they expire or become unavailable. The employer must also spend the money properly and not waste any of it. Employee Retention Tax Credit 2023 Calculation

Below you will find detailed information on ERC, including the amount of credit and the calculation.

Time Period

In 2020, 2021, & 2022, different laws were passed to introduce, amend, and terminate the ERC. The amount of the credit varies according to the time period that it is applied for. The table below summarises key features and differences for the ERC in each time frame:

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 employed affects how wages are calculated and defined, as well as the health insurance premiums for eligible employees. The size of an employer depends on its number of FTEs and the time period. This table summarizes thresholds and rules to determine the size of an employer for each 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, Health Insurance Costs

Qualified Wages are wages that eligible employees receive during periods of suspension or decline in revenue. Other forms of compensation are also included in qualified wages, such as tips, bonuses and commissions. Qualified salaries also include the costs of providing health coverage to eligible workers, including premiums, copays, deductibles, and coinsurance.

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. This table summarises the rules and provides examples for various scenarios. Employee Retention Tax Credit 2023 Calculation

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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Claiming and Reporting the Credit

To claim the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), an employer must file a federal employment tax return (Form 941) or an adjusted employment tax return (Form 941-X) with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The employer will need to declare the qualified wages paid and the health insurance expenses paid for eligible employees. They must also report the credit claimed.

Form 941

Form 941 is a quarterly tax return that the employer must file to show his federal tax liabilities. This includes income taxes, Medicare tax and Social Security taxes. Form 941 allows employers to claim ERCs for current or future quarterly periods. Form 941 is used by employers to:

ERC reduces taxes that employers have to deposit at the IRS.
Request an advance payment of the ERC if the credit exceeds the taxes that the employer has to deposit Employee Retention Tax Credit 2023 Calculation
Carry forward any excess credits to future quarters

To ensure the correct completion of Form 941, and to avoid common errors:

Use the most recent version of Form 941, which reflects any changes or updates to the ERC laws.
Use the IRS worksheets and instructions to calculate and report the ERC
Use Line 11c to declare the wages and costs of health insurance paid to employees who qualify.
Use Line 13d for the credit claim amount per quarter
Use Line 13f to report any advance payments of the credit 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 and attach any supporting documents or schedules

Some tips and resources for filling out Form 941 are:

Form 941 can be submitted faster and more securely by using electronic filing (efile) or online services
Check the IRS website for updates, FAQs, and guidance on Form 941 and the ERC
For clarifications or help, you can contact the IRS.

Form 941-X

Form 941-X allows you to correct mistakes or make adjustments in Form 941 that has already been filed. Form 941-X allows employers to claim ERC retroactively. The employer may use Form 941 to: Employee Retention Tax Credit 2023 Calculation

Claim a credit or refund for the taxes you overpaid by claiming ERC
Report additional qualified wages paid and health insurance premiums paid to eligible workers that have not been reported on Form 941
The amount of credit claimed will be affected by any mistakes or omissions in Form 941.

Employers should avoid these common mistakes when filling out Form 941 X and ensure that they are filled out 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 to indicate which lines of Form 941 are being 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
Use Line 25 to claim any additional credit for each quarter.
Use Line 26 to report any credit or refund due to the ERC claim.
Sign and date Form 941, and attach any supporting documentation or schedules

Some tips and resources for filling out Form 941-X are:

File a separate Form 941-X for each quarter that is being corrected or adjusted Employee Retention Tax Credit 2023 Calculation
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.
For clarifications or help, you can contact the IRS.

Deadline and Statute of Limitations

The deadline to submit Form 941 is usually the last day in the month following each quarter. For example, Q1 2020 (January-March) Form 941 will be due on April 30, 2021. However, if an employer made timely deposits of all taxes due for a quarter, it can file Form 941 by the 10th day of the second month. The end of the quarter. For example, Q1 2020 (January to March) requires that Form 941 be returned by May 10, 2021. Employee Retention Tax Credit 2023 Calculation

The deadline for submitting Form 941X depends on the time period. It is generally three or two years, depending on the date when the original Form 941 has been filed. 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 (ERC) Credit is an important tax benefit which can help employers that were affected by COVID-19 to retain their employees, and lessen the impact the pandemic had on their organizations or businesses.

The ERC (Eligible Employees Credit) is a tax credit that can vary depending on the time frame, the number and type of employees employed, and the amount paid in wages and insurance to employees eligible for the credit. The ERC credit can be claimed with IRS Forms 941 or 941X by reporting to them the qualified health insurance and wages costs as well as the amount claimed each quarter.

Don’t miss this chance to get a tax break if your employer meets the ERC criteria. The ERC has a time limit and deadline for claiming. Use the resources and tips provided in this article to ensure that you fill out your forms correctly and avoid common mistakes. If you need clarification or assistance, you can contact the IRS.

ERCs are a powerful tool that can help your company or organization, as well as your employees. You can use it to retain employees, keep your cash flowing, and recover after a pandemic. This article should have helped you learn more about ERCs and how to apply for them. Thank you for reading. Stay safe.

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Employee Retention Tax Credit 2023 Calculation

What is the ERC?

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

It was created by the CARES Act in March 2020 and was later amended and extended by the CAA (Consolidated Appropriations Act) in December 2020, and the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act of 2021) in March 2021

Is everyone eligible for the ERC?

The ERC is not available to everyone. Only employers who paid wages and retained employees between March 13, 2019, and December 31, 2020, 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 for a calendar quarter in 2020 or 2021 were less than a percentage of their gross receipts for the same quarter in 2019.
These businesses are recovery startups that have been in operation since February 15, 2020. They also generate gross revenues of no more than $1 million on average per year.

How much is ERC?

The amount of ERC a company or organization receives will depend on several factors.

These factors include time, the number of employees and the amount of wages that qualify. They also include health insurance costs for eligible employees. You can read the article above for a more detailed explanation of how ERC is calculated.

How to claim the ERC?

To receive the ERC, employers must file with the IRS a Form 941-X (revised employment tax returns) or a Federal Employment Tax Reform.

The employer must report the qualified wages and health insurance costs paid to eligible employees and the amount of credit claimed for each quarter.

When is the deadline to file the ERC Forms

There are two different deadlines to file the ERC Forms: Form 941 (Form 941-X) and Form 941 (941).

Form 941 deadline is typically the last of the month following each quarter. Meanwhile, the deadline for Form 941-X is generally three years from the date that the original Form 941 was filled. The deadline can be two years after the date the tax was paid. However, the latter date is preferred.