Table of Contents:
Table of Contents:
The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) was designed to get money flowing back into qualifying businesses. But how do you know if your business qualifies? When you work with Innovation Refunds (IR), you’ll have the support and know-how of our independent team of tax attorneys and professionals, to get it done right. Below, we’ll discuss the ERC and what you can do to navigate the refund process smoothly.
Steps to apply for the ERC with IR at your side
Screen your business to check your ERC eligibility
The first step is to determine if your business meets the 2020 and 2021 ERC criteria. Here are the 2020 and 2021 qualifications for the Employee Retention Credit program.
2020 ERC qualifications
- You had a maximum of 100 employees on your payroll in 2019.
- You kept employees on your payroll.
- Your business suffered during the pandemic:
- Your business was forced to shut down due to a government order for any quarter of 2020.
- Your revenue decreased by 50% or more for any 2020 quarter when compared to the same quarter of 2019.
2021 ERC qualifications
- You had between 5 and 500 employees on your payroll in 2019.
- You kept employees on your payroll.
- Your business suffered during the pandemic:
- Your business was forced to shut down due to a government order for any quarter of 2021.
- Your revenue decreased by 20% or more for any 2021 quarter when compared to the same quarter of 2019.
- For both years, your business may also qualify if it had canceled travel plans, meetings were impacted, or your suppliers had issues in their supply chain.
Work with an ERC company
If eligible, you can work with an ERC company and their team of independent tax attorneys, CPAs, and tax professionals with extensive knowledge and experience of the ERC refund program. One of the most important considerations is ensuring that your application for the Employee Retention Credit refund is correct the first time you apply.
With an experienced ERC company, you’ll:
- Get confirmation if your business qualifies for the 2020 and/or 2021 ERC program.
- Receive an estimate of your business' refund, so you know how much money you may be eligible to get back.
- Help processing your refund application.
Have your ERC application submitted
You should have your ERC refund application submitted soon, as the government may change the deadline for companies to apply and receive a refund.
There are potentially thousands of dollars that eligible companies could receive and it's easy to see if you qualify to work with Innovation Refunds.
Begin the journey
Your company must provide specific paperwork to the IRS in order for them to process your ERC application. Here is a condensed version of the required documentation:
- IRS Form 941: Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return.
- Monthly Payroll Ledger.
- Monthly Group Healthcare Statement.
- PP1 & PPP2 Loan Forgiveness Applications.
While checking to see if you qualify and have the right documentation, we offer audit protection at no additional cost. Additionally, there are no upfront fees; we receive payment only after you receive your business’ ERC refund checks or credits.
Work with ERC professionals to apply for the ERC
When working with ERC professionals, they should be in contact with you during the entire process. When you work with Innovation Refunds, we ensure you will be in touch with our network of independent tax attorneys and professionals.
You’ll work with multiple IR team members, including an account executive, customer success champion(s), and refund assurance champion(s) to ensure a smooth transition from application to receiving the refund:
- They will estimate your refund.
- They may ask for more information to help ensure a smooth process.
- They will be clear and upfront about what is happening and when.
- They will let you know if they find any mistakes or missing information.
- The review process may take several weeks, as IR is checking for the accuracy of your ERC refund paperwork.
- They will assist you with submitting your amended paperwork to the IRS for review.
ERC claim submission
Once your business claim has been submitted, it may take over six to nine months for processing. The long wait time is due to the backlog of Forms 941-X the IRS has waiting to be processed. However, the wait is worth it since eligible businesses can receive a substantial refund per eligible employee kept on the payroll for all of 2020 and the first three quarters of 2021.
Apply for the ERC with confidence
Strategically partnered with over 80 banks, Innovation Refunds works with a team of independent tax attorneys, CPAs, and tax professionals ready to help your business. Our client’s average tax refund amount is $22,000 per employee, and we’re continuing to assist companies across the country get the payroll tax refund their business qualifies for.
