As a business owner, you know all too well how challenging the COVID pandemic has been. Through emergency government orders, businesses have been forced to restrict or completely shut down during the pandemic. To keep the economy intact in such a challenging situation, the government has released several programs aimed at supporting those businesses negatively impacted by the pandemic. A significant program introduced in March of 2020 was the Employee Retention Credit.

If your business qualifies, the ERC program allows for up to $26,000 per employee. This means a company with 10 employees can receive up to $260,000 in ERC funds. It’s important to note that this program does not have a cap on funding. Although this program was released at the same time as the PPP funding, it has been poorly utilized nationwide. This is because originally it provided much less funding and restricted qualification to a few businesses. But we have good news! This program has expanded with the most recent amendment being signed into law in November 2021. Now the rules for qualification have been significantly eased. Here at ERC Specialists, our team of over 200 tax and payroll professionals is focused on helping U.S. small business owners claim their Employee Retention Credits. We prepare and file your claim using this five-step process:

Step One: visit our website at www.ERCSpecialists.com. Click ‘Begin Qualifying’ to input your business information into our system and determine whether or not you qualify. If we feel you are a good candidate for the program, we’ll give you an estimate of how much you can receive in ERC credits.

Step Two is when you send us some of your payroll tax documents via our secure file transfer system. We need your 941 payroll tax returns, detailed payroll reports for 2020 and 2021, and basic information on any PPP funding you may have received.

Step Three: we evaluate and analyze the information you provided. We will find the maximum allowable credit that we can get back for you and provide an analysis, usually within two to three weeks.

Step Four, we send you a document containing the final amount of your credit along with forms to sign to allow us to file for the ERC credits on your behalf. Once you sign them, we will file your ERC application with the IRS and communicate with the IRS as needed to ensure you receive your full credit.

Step Five, you’re done. Sit back and relax. The IRS will process your return and issue your refund checks. You’ll receive one check for each quarter claimed, since the IRS processes the return for each quarter separately. Unlike the PPP these funds don’t need to be paid back, and the money can be used for any purpose. Take it from Scott, one of the business owners we were able to help: “When I heard about the ERC program I reached out to my CPA. 30 minutes later he called and said I didn’t qualify. Out of curiosity, I had ERC Specialists see if I qualified. Turns out I received the ERC for 7 of my 9 employees. Highly recommended!”

Don’t delay! The IRS is taking four to six months to process these returns. And as this ERC credit has become available for more businesses, this backlog may increase. Ready to get started? Visit www.ERCSpecialists.com to see if you qualify today. We look forward to helping you maximize these valuable credits!

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