ERC credits are calculated based on eligible wages paid to employees during eligible employer status. Previously, the Consolidated Appropriations Act expanded qualifications to include businesses that applied for a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), including borrowers from the initial PPP round who were not originally eligible to claim the tax credit. To claim the credit for prior quarters, employers must file Form 941-X, Employer's Adjusted Quarterly Federal Tax Return or Claim for Reimbursement, for the applicable quarters in which qualifying wages were paid. The ERTC is a refundable credit that businesses can claim for qualified wages, including certain health insurance costs, paid to employees.
We can answer your questions and help you with the employer withholding tax credit, the CARES Act, tax consulting, and filing options. For most companies that take advantage of this program, refundable tax credits far exceed payroll taxes paid by employers. Instead, the employer must reduce the wage deductions on your income tax return for the tax year in which you are an eligible employer for ERC purposes. The Employee Retention Credit is available to churches and other faith-based organizations that were affected by government-mandated capacity restrictions for meetings or experienced significant decreases in gross revenues.
For example, there are paid vacation tax credits that have been extended and are available until the end of September. This law increased the employee limit to 500 to determine what salaries apply to the credit. Also, remember that if a customer has taken and will be forgiven for a PPP loan, they may now be eligible for the employee retention credit on certain wages. The IRS has security barriers in place to prevent salary increases that would count toward the credit once the employer is eligible for the employee retention credit.
To receive the ERTC, businesses must monetize the credit for each payroll period by filing a quarterly payroll tax return using Form 941. Eligible businesses that experienced a decline in gross income or that closed due to a government order and did not claim the credit when they filed their original return can take advantage of filing adjusted labor tax returns. The employee withholding credit is a fully refundable tax credit that eligible employers claim against certain labor taxes. The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) has proven to be one of the most effective tax policies to help small and medium-sized businesses and tax-exempt entities cope with the economic impact of the pandemic.
