Your business may be entitled to a Federal Payroll Subsidy of up to $33,000 per employee

Was your business restricted by any Covid-related Government order over the last 18 months? Did you experience a Revenue Reduction in 2020 or 2021 relative to 2019? If your answer is Yes to either one of these questions, you could be eligible for a sizeable Federal payroll subsidy.  

How?

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) may be America's best kept secret. It is estimated that less than 30% of eligible businesses have taken advantage of it! ERC was signed into law as part of the CARES Act in March of 2020, entitling eligible employers to this credit against Federal Employment taxes. When first introduced, however, businesses could not claim both, a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan and an ERC. However, changes to this law made in December 2020 and again in March 20201 extended the program, increased payments, and retroactively relaxed eligibility requirements. Most significantly, PPP recipients are no longer restricted from also receiving an ERC!  

Who Qualifies?

Business may retroactively file for an ERC. For a 2020 ERC, businesses with less than 100 Full-Time W2 employees, expanded to 500 W2 employees for a 2021 ERC. Who met either Condition 1 or 2: Condition 1 - Covid-Related Government Restriction Businesses whose operations had been suspended or curtailed by a Covid-related government order. Example: Restaurants, Gyms, and Personal Services that had their indoor capacity closed or limited. OR Condition 2 - Gross Revenue Reduction 2020: Any business who had a 50% drop in Gross Receipts in any quarter of 2020, compared to the same quarter in 2019 2021: Relaxed to any business who had a 20% drop in Gross Receipts in any quarter of 2021, compared to the same quarter in 2019 or 2020, as elected by the business.  

How Large is the Credit?

2020: 50% of first $10,000 in wages and benefits paid to qualified employees during impacted periods* (up to $5000 per employee for all of 2000). 2021: 70% of the first $10,000 in wages per quarter. (up to $28,000 per employee for all of 2021)  

Is there a Catch?

There is no catch, but there are some complexities. For example, while you can claim both a PPP and an ERC, those salaries that were subsidized by a forgiven PPP loan, cannot be also used as the basis for an ERC Credit. Yet, in our experience, businesses like Restaurants, Hotels, Dry Cleaners, Hairdressers, and many Retailers, are able to claim a sizable ERC, even after backing out PPP funded salaries.  

Need Help?

Filing for an ERC can be complex. For that reason, Clearent has partnered with the financial and tax experts at Adesso Capital who specialize in ERC, to help our clients get the funds that they are entitled to. They have the knowledge and experience to handle the entire ERC filing process for you, and maximize the Credit for which your business will qualify.