When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, it ushered in a series of public health measures and government orders aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. Unfortunately, this also slowed — and in many cases, entirely stopped — businesses’ earnings, which made it very difficult to continue paying employees’ wages.

In response, Congress passed the CARES Act in March 2020. One key provision of this act was the Employee Retention Credit (known as ERC) — a tax opportunity intended to give businesses economic relief so they could retain their employees. Businesses may be eligible for the ERC if they have experienced disruption due to COVID-19, including through necessary business modifications made due to government orders.

Many government orders required businesses to make changes before they could reopen their physical spaces to the public. There were several modifications required by these orders that may have impacted your business, which might mean you’re eligible for this credit  — up to $26,000 per W-2 employee . At ERC Provider, we are experts at helping you obtain your maximum credit in compliance with the law.

Business owners made significant changes to ensure the health of their employees and customers during this pandemic. But in many cases, these changes were costly. Sometimes they required investing in new equipment, furniture, or technology. And often, these modifications led to fewer customers coming through the door.

But as a business owner, you kept the lights on — and your employees on the payroll. The ERC is intended to help offset that hardship and keep you on firm financial ground. If your business meets certain qualifications (more on that below), you may be eligible for this valuable credit.

Some of the modifications required by government orders prior to a business reopening to the public included:

Generally, your company is eligible if you were operating as a trade or business in 2020 or 2021 and at least one of the following is true: you experienced a full or partial suspension of operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding government orders, you dealt with supply chain disruptions because vendors were impacted by government orders, and/or you saw “a significant loss of gross receipts.” For 2020, a significant loss would mean a decline of 50% based on the organization’s 2019 gross receipts and measured quarterly, while a quarterly decline of 20% would qualify in 2021. There are exceptions and nuances to these qualifications — and we can help you determine if you qualify.

Designed to keep people working and businesses operating, the ERC has distributed millions of dollars to qualified businesses. But determining if you’re qualified and knowing the next steps to take can be tricky. Many of our clients are referred to us by their own CPAs and tax professionals who recognize that this is a new and specialized area that calls for expertise. This is where we come in.

We walk our clients through a few steps to simplify a complex process. All you need to do:

That’s it. If your business doesn’t qualify, it costs nothing to determine eligibility. If you are eligible, we will help you get up to $26,000 per employee on your payroll. Our service charge is calculated with your free analysis and is based on a percentage of the credit recovered. You’ll end up with thousands of dollars to help you continue running your business — many of our clients have received six-figure credits. We look forward to helping you figure out if you’re eligible too.