Retaining Employees During the Pandemic
What is Employee Retention Credit?
The Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”) was introduced as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act to incentivize employers to retain employees during the pandemic by offering a refundable tax credit against employment taxes.
Who is eligible for the Employee Retention Credit?
Recently, the ERC was expanded and extended as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“the Act”) to include employers previously ineligible to claim the ERC, because they received loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), can now claim retroactive and current ERC benefits. Companies, tax-exempt organizations, colleges and universities, and entities providing medical or hospital care are now entitled to ERC benefits in 2021 if they experience a decline.
Also with the Act, the ERC rate was increased from 50 percent to 70 percent of qualified wages.
How Can We Help?
We utilize a proprietary ERC technology that allows automation and standardization of services connecting to pre-populated Government orders to efficiently calculate and document the credit benefits including:
- Determine if the company is an eligible employer and coordinate with a company’s tax and other applicable internal departments
- Use a proprietary technology allowing automation and standardization of services to efficiently calculate and document the credit benefits
- Ensure no double-counting with other employment tax provisions
- Assist with claiming the credit and support proper treatment for credits claimed
In order to best serve you, we offer both complimentary scoping activities for businesses who received PPP loans, and businesses that may have a decline of more than 20% in gross receipts as compared to their gross receipts for the same calendar quarter in 2019 to quantify estimated tax credit benefits.
For more information on eligibility requirements for the recently expanded Employee Retention Credit, please reach out to your local Cherry Bekaert professional today.
