Your AFA Member Savings Program has partnered with Experian to provide Employee Retention Credit services for our members. As you may have seen in our September update, the ERC Program recently revised program expectations. The good news is that our process was and still is fundamentally supported by ERC statute and IRS guidance. The IRS is still required by law to receive claims and abide by their own safe harbor notices for processing, even though they will now take a little longer to process claims.
Background and why apply for the ERC?
The Employee Retention Credit program (ERC) is a refundable tax credit based on wages and healthcare costs. Eligible employers may be able to receive up to $5,000 per employee in 2020 and up to $7,000 per employee for each qualifying quarter of 2021. You can qualify based on your W2 employee count, and your participation in the PPP loan program does NOT disqualify you.
Many industries were significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the CARES Act, the Employee Retention Credit provides a refundable tax credit for businesses that either experienced a significant reduction in revenue OR whose operations were suspended due to government orders. Even if you do not meet the specific revenue reduction threshold, you may qualify due to temporary shutdowns, modifications, travel restriction or social distancing requirements.
The deadline to submit the 2020 refund claim is April 15, 2024, and the deadline for 2021 is April 15, 2025. We recommend that members file as soon as possible, in order to be at the front of the line when they finally get caught up.
You can have an Experian Representative contact you by registering your interest HERE.