Employee Retention Credit
As part of the Covid-19 relief package, the CARES Act established the Employee Retention Credit to help struggling businesses with their employer taxes. The Employee Retention Credit is a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes equal to 50 percent of the qualified wages an eligible employer pays to employees after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021. For each employee, wages (including certain health plan costs) up to $10,000 can be counted to determine the amount of the 50% credit.
Employers, including tax-exempt organizations, are eligible for the credit if they operate a trade or business during calendar year 2020 and experience either:
- the full or partial suspension of the operation of their trade or business during any calendar quarter because of governmental orders limiting commerce, travel, or group meetings due to COVID-19, or
- a significant decline in gross receipts.
A significant decline in gross receipts begins:
- on the first day of the first calendar quarter of 2020
- for which an employer’s gross receipts are less than 50% of its gross receipts
- for the same calendar quarter in 2019.
The significant decline in gross receipts ends:
- on the first day of the first calendar quarter following the calendar quarter
- in which gross receipts are more than of 80% of its gross receipts
- for the same calendar quarter in 2019.
The credit applies to qualified wages (including certain health plan expenses) paid during this period or any calendar quarter in which operations were suspended.
For additional information about the Employee Retention Credit Program, you can go directly to the IRS website at: https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/employee-retention-credit
