The ERC is a stimulus program created to assist businesses who were able to keep their staff members during the Covid-19 outbreak. Established by the CARES Act, it is a refundable tax credit – a grant, not a loan – that you can claim for your business. Small and medium-sized companies can use the ERC. It is based on the eligible salary and health benefits given to employees.

Available for 2020 and the first three quarters of 2021. ERC is reported on a corrected quarterly payroll tax return (Form 941X). When the IRS has finished processing Form 941X, a check for the credit amount plus interest is sent to the taxpayer. For purposes of claiming the Employee Retention Credit for the second quarter of 2020, an updated payroll tax return must be filed by July 2023 since the statute of limitations for submitting amended payroll tax returns is three years from the due date of the return. Applying for the credit is still therefore possible.

There are three ways to qualify:

1.  FULL OR PARTIAL SUSPENSION OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS
   Your business must have partially or completely shut down in 2020 or 2021 per a government order. This includes having your business operations restricted, being unable to travel, or having group gatherings prohibited.
2.  GROSS RECEIPTS REDUCTION
   When comparing the current quarter to 2019 pre-COVID levels, the 2020 and 2021 gross receipt reduction requirements are different.
3. RECOVERY STARTUP PROVISION
   Businesses who started operations on or after February 15, 2020 and had annual sales averages of less than $1 million in 2020 and 2021 are immediately eligible for up to $7000 per employee, with a cap of $50,000 each quarter in Q3 and Q4 of 2021.

There are three criteria for eligibility: a change in business operations, a drop in income, or startup status. You don’t need to have a revenue loss to be eligible; in fact, many firms who had an increase in sales were still eligible.

According to section 206(c) of the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, an employer qualifying for the employee retention credit (ERC) can claim the ERC even if the firm has received a Small Business Interruption Loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Here are some factors to consider in order to qualify your business for the Employee Retention Credit:

1. A shift in business hours
2. SPartial or complete suspension of operations.
3. Interruptions or closure of supply chain or vendor
4. Reduced services provided.
5. Workforce or employee workload reductions
6. A interruption or disruption in your business (division or department closures)
7. Inability to visit a client’s work site
8. Suppliers were unable to make key products or materials delivery.
9. Additional employee and customer distance needs due to social distancing
10. Changes in job functions/roles
11. Tasks or labor that cannot be completed from home or while shifting to remote working circumstances
12. Inability to travel
13. Inability to hold group meetings

Yes. To qualify, your business must fulfill one of the following criteria:

– Experienced a 20% decrease in gross receipts, or
– Due to government orders, you had to adjust your company operations.

Many elements are considered alterations to business operations, such as job role changes and the acquisition of additional protective equipment. In this situation, the ERC also applies only to the third and fourth quarters of 2021. Businesses can qualify regardless of how many full-time employees they have.

Yes. Businesses who have already obtained a PPP loan can now qualify for the ERC under the Consolidated Appropriations Act. It should be noted, however, that the ERC will only apply to salaries that are not utilized in the PPP.

For qualifying employers, the program began on March 13, 2020 and run through September 30, 2021.

After December 31st of each year, you can claim for refunds for 2020 and 2021, as well as into 2022 and 2023. And maybe beyond that as well.

We have clients that only received refunds, and others who qualified to continue getting ERC in every paycheck they submitted through September 30, 2021, at around 30% of their payroll cost.

Clients have gotten refunds ranging from $100,000 to several million dollars.

• We charge no upfront or hourly fees. Our interests are aligned with yours. We only get paid if you receive your ERC Refund.

• We will accurately identify your ERC Refund.

• We will work with your accountant to procure your ERC Refund, just as we do with so many other businesses like yours nationwide.

• We will do it right the first time. Errors and inconsistencies are all too easy to make and ensure your application goes to the bottom of the stack, delaying your application indefinitely, potentially for over a year.

• Ultimate ERC charges a single 30% performance fee on every case, which includes all of our optimization, operational, accounting, and audit support fees.  Our fees also cover our costs related to finding potential financing sources related to any Refund Advances. However, Ultimate ERC’s fees do not include any financing fees, such as broker fees, lender fees, monthly interest fees, and discount points, as these can vary substantially due to the unique nature of each business situation and refund size.

• If they were going to take care of it, they would have already done so.

• The ERC is complicated. Given the complexity and confusing communication regarding the credit to accountants provided by the IRS, most accountants don’t want to deal with the ERC. We’re happy to work with your accountant to make the process quick and painless.

• We’ve already done the heavy lifting and have a direct line to the IRS to ensure your ERC Refund is processed promptly.

• If you don’t have an accountant, our dedicated accounting specialists will work with you to ensure you get the maximum ERC Refund.

• It’s essential that you claim your ERC Refund even if you have already claimed the PPP. While the IRS doesn’t allow “double dipping,” the PPP does not directly conflict with ERC.

• Every day we help businesses claim the maximum available ERC award they qualify for in addition to the PPP.

• Many clients who received PPP have also received hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in ERC Refunds.

• The ERC is different from the PPP and any other government programs. It’s not a loan. It’s a tax credit, which means it does not need to be paid back, and you can elect to receive the credit immediately.

• The ERC is currently funded, but it’s possible the program could end by Federal action at any time.

• The ERC Refund amounts to unclaimed overpaid taxes for your business. If your business qualifies for it, it’s yours. If you don’t claim it as soon as possible, it could just go away.

The more important questions to consider are:

• With so much to gain, what have you got to lose?

• How much are you leaving on the table for the IRS to give to some other business?

• What would a large cash infusion into your business today do for you– one that requires no additional sales and you never need to pay back?

• Why on earth would you delay discovering and procuring your benefit even one more second?

• No fee up front. We only get paid you if you get your check.

• We work with (or without) your accountant to care of all the accounting and legal complexity.

• Call us at 1-833-ERC-FIRM (1-833-372-3476)
  
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• CLICK HERE to schedule a meeting with us through Calendly