Employee Retention Tax Credit Recovery Startup Business

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The ERC, which was originally enacted in 2020 by the CARES Act, was extended and modified later by subsequent legislation in both 2021 & 2023.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 explain what the ERC is, how it works, and how to claim it for different time periods and eligibility criteria.

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 Recovery Startup Business

Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is a refundable credit available to tax-exempt and for-profit organizations and businesses that have employees who were 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 encourages employers to maintain their workers and to provide health benefits to them during the crisis.

Main Features and Advantages

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 credit amount and percentage vary according to the time period in which it is claimed. For 2020, the percent is 50%, and the limit is $5,000 for each employee per year. For 2021, it is 70%. The limit is $7,000 per quarter per employee. For 2023, the percentage will be 70% for the two first quarters and 40% for the two last quarters. The limit per employee per quarter is $10,000. Employee Retention Tax Credit Recovery Startup Business
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.
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 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. Employers may also request an advanced payment of the credit using Form 7200.

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Eligibility Criteria

To qualify as an employer for the Employee retention Credit (ERC), you must meet at least one of the two criteria below:

A government order has suspended or halted the business or organization of an employer due to COVID-19 in a calendar year 2020 or 2021.
Gross receipts of an employer for a quarter calendar in 2020 or in 2021 are less than half (for 2020) and 80% (for 2021) their gross receipts from the same period 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 qualify for the ERC regardless of business suspension or revenue decline.

Business Suspension

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

The order restricts commerce, travel or group meetings because of COVID-19
The order will affect the operation of the business or the organization
The order will apply to any calendar month in 2020 or even 2021

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

Stay-athome orders restrict non-essential enterprises from operating
Curfews that limit the hours of operation for certain businesses
Limits in capacity that restrict the number or clients that a business can serve
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 scope of the order and how it affects the operations of the business
The length, frequency, and timing of the order in relation to the quarters of the year.
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 receipts in any calendar quarter of 2020 will be less than 50% the gross receipts in the same quarter of 2019.
The gross revenues for any calendar-quarter in 2021 will be less than 80 percent of the gross revenue in 2019 for that same quarter.

Gross receipts can be defined as all the money received by an organization or business from any source during their annual accounting period, without deductions. Gross receipts can include:

Sales of goods & services
Rents, dividends, and annuities are examples of income streams that include interest, dividends.
Gifts, donations, and contributions Employee Retention Tax Credit Recovery Startup Business
Membership fees and dues
Gross profits from trades and businesses

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
Use the same calendar quarters as it did for its federal employment tax return (Form 941 ) for 2019 and 2021/2022
It is the same income sources that were reported on the federal income tax returns for 2019.

Recovery Startup Business

The recovery startup business is one that:

Start any new business or occupation after February 15, 2019,
The average annual gross receipts for the three tax years ending in the year preceding the quarter for which credit is calculated cannot exceed $1 million

A recovery startup business can qualify for the ERC regardless of whether it meets the criteria of business suspension or revenue decline. However, there are some limitations and special rules that apply to recovery startup businesses, such as:

Maximum credit per quarter: $50,000
Only wages paid during the third and fourth quarters in 2021 are eligible for this credit
All recovery startup businesses are subject to an aggregate cap of $250,000,000.

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Credit Amount 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.
The number of employees that the employer has in 2019 or 2020/2021 and whether or not they worked during the pandemic
How much each employee received from their employer and how they were covered by health insurance in the pandemic

To claim the ERC, the employer must fill out and submit a form to the IRS. 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 can then use the money for paying their employees, their health insurance and/or to receive refunds or credits on their payroll tax.

The ERC will no longer be available. The ERC started in March 2020 and ends in September 2022. Employers must claim their ERC before they expire or become unavailable. Employers must also use the money well and not waste it. Employee Retention Tax Credit Recovery Startup Business

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

Time Period

The ERC was introduced, amended, and terminated by different laws in 2020, 2021, and 2022. The amount of credit depends on the time frame for which it’s claimed. The following table summarizes the key features and differences of the ERC for 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 affects the calculation of qualified wages for employees and their health insurance costs. According to the time frame and number of full-time equivalents (FTEs), an employer can be classified as a small employer or large employer. The following table summarizes the thresholds and rules for determining the employer size for 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 wages include wages paid to eligible workers during a business suspension or revenue decrease. Qualified wage includes tips and bonuses, as well as severance, pays, sick leave payments, family leave payments and other types of compensation. Qualified salaries also include the costs of providing health coverage to eligible workers, including premiums, copays, deductibles, and coinsurance.

The definition and calculation of qualified wages and health insurance costs depend on the employer size and the time period. The table below summarizes rules and examples in different scenarios. Employee Retention Tax Credit Recovery Startup Business

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 and Report 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 used to report the employer’s quarterly federal tax liability, including income tax, social security tax, and Medicare tax. Form 941 allows employers to claim ERCs for current or future quarterly periods. Form 941 is used by employers to:

Reduce the amount of taxes that the employer has to deposit with the IRS by the amount of the ERC
Request an advance payment of the ERC if the credit exceeds the taxes that the employer has to deposit Employee Retention Tax Credit Recovery Startup Business
You can carry forward any credit balance to subsequent quarters

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

Use the latest version of Form 941 that reflects the changes and updates made by the laws that affect the ERC
Follow the instructions and worksheets provided by the IRS for calculating and reporting 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
Use Line 13f to declare any advance payments received from the IRS.
Use Line 24 to request a credit advance if necessary
Report any credit balance that may be carried forward into the next quarter using Line 25
Sign the form 941, and attach any supporting documents.

The following are some resources and tips for filling in Form 941.

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

Form 941-X allows you to correct mistakes or make adjustments in Form 941 that has already been filed. Form 941-X also allows the employer to claim the ERC retroactively for past quarters. Form 941-X can be used by the employer to: Employee Retention Tax Credit Recovery Startup Business

Claim refunds or credits for taxes overpaid due to the ERC
Report additional qualified earnings and health benefits paid to eligible employee that weren’t reported on Form 941.
Correct any mistakes or omissions made on Form 941 that affect the amount of credit claimed

Employers should avoid these common mistakes when filling out Form 941 X and ensure that they are filled out correctly.

Use the latest form 941X that reflects changes to laws that are applicable to the ERC.
For calculating and reporting your ERC, follow the IRS’s instructions and worksheets.
Use Part 2 for indicating which lines of the Form 941 need to be corrected or adjusted
Use Part 3 to explain your corrections or adjustments on Form 941.
Line 24 should be used to record any additional health insurance and wages paid to employees who qualify.
Line 25 is the place to enter any additional credit claims for each quarter.
Use Line 26 for any refunds or credits due to ERC claims.
Sign and date Form 941-X and attach any supporting documents or schedules

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

You must file a separate 941X form for each quarter you are correcting or adjusting. Employee Retention Tax Credit Recovery Startup Business
After making a correction or finding an error, you should file Form 941X.
Updates, FAQs, and guidance about Form 941X and ERC can be found on the IRS website.
Contact the IRS or a tax professional for assistance or clarification if needed

Deadline and Statute of Limitations

The deadline for submitting Form 941 generally falls on the last calendar day of the following month. For Q1 2021 (January-March), the Form 941 must be filed by April 30th, 2021. 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. 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 Recovery Startup Business

The deadline for submitting Form 941X is usually three years following the original date of Form 941 or two after the date on which the tax was paid. For Q1 2020 (January – March), for example, Form 941 is due on April 30, 2020. If the employer has filed Forms 941 and paid tax by April 30th 2020, they have until April 30th 2023 to submit Form 941X. If an employers filed Forms 941 and paid taxes on June 15, 2019, the deadline is June 15, 2022.

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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 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. You can claim the ERC by submitting Form 941 to the IRS. This form will ask you for the number of employees, the amount paid in qualified wages and insurance costs each quarter, and how much credit is being claimed.

Don’t miss this chance to get a tax break if your employer meets the ERC criteria. 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 also contact the IRS or a tax professional for assistance or clarification if needed.

ERCs are a powerful tool that can help your company or organization, as well as your employees. It can be used to help retain your employees, maintain your cash flow, and recover in the event of a pandemic. We hope that this article helped you to understand more about ERC and the claim process. We thank you for reading. Please stay safe.

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Employee Retention Tax Credit Recovery Startup Business

What is an ERC?

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

The CARES Act, passed by Congress in March of this year, was amended in December of that year by the CAA Act. In March 2021, the ARPA Act (American Rescue Plan Act of 2021), was extended.

Are all ERC applicants eligible?

ERCs are not available to all. Only employers who paid wages and retained employees between March 13, 2019, and December 31, 2020, are eligible.

Below are some details about eligibility.

A government order suspended the business (fully or partly) because of the COVID-19 epidemic.
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.
You are a new business in recovery that has started operating after February 15th, 2020. Your average annual gross sales is no more than $1,000,000.

What is the ERC worth?

The amount of ERC that a company will receive depends on a number of factors.

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

How to claim the ERC?

To claim the ERC an employer must submit a federal employment reform (Form 941)-X or a revised employment tax return to 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 ERC’s deadline?

The deadline for filing the ERC forms is different for Form 941 and Form 941-X.

For Form 941 is generally the last day of the month following the end of each quarter. The deadline for Forms 941-X, however, is usually three years after the date the original Form was completed. This can also be up to two years, based on the date when the tax is paid.