Why Employee Retention Ertc 2021

Very first factor, the employee retention credit for both 2020 and 2021 is now available to PPP recipients, however of course you can't double dip. You can't get PPP for the hundred thousand dollars you paid your employees and after that turn around and declare the employee retention credit on those salaries also. The federal government does not look too fondly on paying your payroll for you through the PPP and after that you claiming a credit against the taxes you pay the federal government on those earnings that the federal government paid for you. So that makes good sense. Now, there's some preparation here. If you got PPP and you are qualified for the employee retention credit, then when you do your PPP forgiveness application, you require to select the very best covered duration that will get you complete PPP forgiveness but likewise maximize your employee retention credit.



For PPP forgiveness, you want to fill up that payroll bucket with as lots of expenses as possible that don't count for employee retention credit purposes. You can't claim the employee retention credit on state unemployment insurance contributions, however state unemployment insurance contributions count towards PPP forgiveness, see? You 'd desire to dump all your state joblessness insurance contributions on your PPP forgiveness application to leave as much ordinary salaries as possible to take the employee retention credit on.

This can get extremely technical very quick and it's really circumstance specific in terms of optimizing PPP vs. ERC and my firm has tools to figure this stuff out for you, I'm not going to dig into all that here, but just know that you truly have to do the math when doing your PPP forgiveness to make sure you're not leaving anything on the table in terms of the employee retention credit. Another thing to note is you can't deduct the earnings you declared the employee retention credit on, and that makes good sense also, why should the federal government provide you a deduction for these wages that they already provided you a credit for? Basically the credit is tax-effected. Alright, sorry for getting a little sidetracked there, I simply like discussing this things, however let's speak about another factor why the employee retention credit is more attractive now than it was in 2015, which is that it's simpler to receive the employee retention credit in 2021. In 2020, for a quarter to get approved for the employee retention credit, you had to reveal a 50% decline in gross invoices compared to the very same calendar quarter in 2019.

However in 2021, for a quarter to qualify for the employee retention credit, you just need to show a 20% decline in gross invoices compared to the same calendar quarter in 2019. So this indicates even more organizations will qualify. My service, for instance, experienced a 26% decrease in gross invoices, comparing Q1 2019 to Q1 2021, and it was a similar story in 2015 too.

I didn't certify for the 2020 employee retention credit initially, due to the fact that I got very first round of PPP cash and second because my company didn't suffer that large 50% decline needed to certify for the employee retention credit last year.But for 2021, at least for Q1, yeah, my company certifies. Likewise, for 2021, for any quarter, you can choose to use the lookback quarter, meaning that, for instance, even if your Q1 2021 gross receipts aren't at least 20% lower than your Q1 2019 gross receipts, you can compare for functions of identifying eligibility for the employee retention credit for Q1 2021, you can compare Q4 2020 to Q4 2019. Ramification here is that if you certify for Q1 2021 based upon Q1 2021's gross invoices, you will also qualify for Q2 2021 considering that you certified in the lookback quarter of Q1 2021.

Same thing for Q2 to Q3 and Q3 to Q4, so generally if you just receive Q1 and Q3 2021, you also receive Q2 and Q4 based upon the lookback. Also, even if you didn't have an adequate decline in income, you can qualify for the employee retention credit if you were required to fully or partly suspend operations in your service during any calendar quarter in 2020 or 2021 due to state or federal orders, in which case you are qualified for the employee retention credit during that duration of complete or partial shutdown.

Typical example, you own a dining establishment, and your guv signed an executive order mentioning that you require to close down indoor dining. That is an example of a partial shutdown. Also, not just are more services eligible for the employee retention credit thanks to these new laws, making PPP recipients qualified for the employee retention credit though not on the exact same wages and making more organizations eligible through the 20% decline limit instead of the 50% decline limit, however the 2021 credit is also more lucrative than the 2020 credit.

This is since for 2020, the employee retention credit was equal to 50% of all certified incomes for 2020, the employee retention credit was equal to 50% of all qualified earnings you paid workers between March 12, 2020, and December 31, 2020, with a limitation of $10,000 in earnings for that whole time duration. The optimum 2020 credit per employee was $5,000. Okay, however that's absolutely nothing compared to the 2021 credit since for 2021, the credit amounts to 70% of certified earnings per worker paid from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021, limited to $10,000 in earnings per staff member ... for that whole period? No. Per quarter. So for 2021 the portion is more (70% in 2021 vs. 50% in 2020) and you can take it on approximately $10,000 in salaries per employee per quarter, so we're discussing an optimum credit of $7,000 per worker per quarter. If you're qualified all 4 quarters, $7,000 times 4 is $28,000. That's right, folks, the maximum 2021 employee retention credit is $28,000 per employee. That's huge. That's a godsend to numerous business owners today. So you see what I mean now, right, how the employee retention credit has gone from unsightly duckling in 2020 to gorgeous swan in 2021, right? And by the method, by the method, certified salaries includes employer-paid health insurance coverage premiums.


If you got PPP and you are eligible for the employee retention credit, then when you do your PPP forgiveness application, you need to select the finest covered duration that will get you complete PPP forgiveness but also optimize your employee retention credit.



Alright, sorry for getting a little sidetracked there, I just love talking about this things, however let's talk about another factor why the employee retention credit is more appealing now than it was last year, and that is that it's simpler to certify for the employee retention credit in 2021. I didn't qualify for the 2020 employee retention credit first, since I got first round of PPP cash and second because my organization didn't suffer that large 50% decline required to qualify for the employee retention credit last year.But for 2021, at least for Q1, yeah, my organization certifies. Not just are more businesses eligible for the employee retention credit thanks to these new laws, making PPP receivers qualified for the employee retention credit though not on the exact same salaries and making more organizations eligible through the 20% decline threshold rather than the 50% decrease threshold, however the 2021 credit is likewise more rewarding than the 2020 credit.

Not bad, however that's nothing compared to the 2021 credit since for 2021, the credit is equal to 70% of certified wages per employee paid from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021, restricted to $10,000 in salaries per employee ... for that whole time duration?