ERC Insights Blog

Fact-Checking the New York Times’ Claim That the ERC is a “Magnet for Fraud”

June 19, 2023

Several of our clients have shared with us an alarming New York Times article from May 23, 2023, entitled “This Little-Known Pandemic-Era Tax Credit Has Become a Magnet for Fraud,” and have asked us for our response. Here is our response. 1. Some Fraud Does Not Equal Pervasive Fraud First, we completely agree with Times…

What is a “Partial Shutdown” for the purposes of the ERC?

May 29, 2023

As we’ve described in other posts, the Employee Retention Credit is available to a wide range of businesses and nonprofits, but you do have to show that your business was affected by the pandemic, either by showing a decrease in revenue or showing how government regulations may have led to a “partial shutdown” of your…

Missed Out On Employee Retention Credit? Here’s How To Claim It Retroactively

April 10, 2023

What Is The Employee Retention Credit? The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is a refundable tax credit introduced by the U.S. government as part of the CARES Act in March 2020. Initially, the ERC was designed to encourage businesses to keep their employees on the payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing a credit for…

Does the IRS Audit ERC Filings?

March 22, 2023

With the hype surrounding the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), many would-be advisors focus on the positive aspects of the ERC while failing to advise clients of the potentially negative aspects. “Find out in fifteen minutes if you qualify,” they say, “and get $26,000 per employee of free money!” But the ERC is not “free money.” …

Understanding the Basics of Employee Retention Credit Aggregation Rules

March 16, 2023

As businesses srecover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, many are exploring various tax credits to aid in their recovery. The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) offers significant tax relief for companies impacted by the pandemic. However, there are aggregation rules in place that can impact which businesses are eligible for the ERC. In this…

Is the ERC a Scam? No, But You Should Be Skeptical.

March 7, 2023

If you’ve found this page, chances are you’re doing some research about the Employee Retention Tax Credit (abbreviated ERC or ERTC). As you may have noticed, most posts on the subject talk about the same few things: what the credit is, how to qualify, and, most importantly, how much money you can make. You may…

Mailing Addresses To Claim Your Employee Retention Credit

February 17, 2023

As a response to the economic distress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has rolled out several relief programs for businesses, including the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). If you are a business owner who the pandemic has impacted, you may be eligible for the ERC, which is designed to incentivize businesses to retain their…

Maximizing The Employee Retention Credit: A Guide For Startup Businesses

February 15, 2023

The ERC is a refundable tax credit initially introduced in March 2020 as part of the CARES Act. It was initially designed to help businesses keep employees on their payroll during the pandemic by providing them with a tax credit that can be used to offset payroll taxes. However, the ERC was subsequently amended several…

ERC Qualification in a Nutshell

February 1, 2023

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC — sometimes abbreviated ERTC) is available to hundreds of thousands of companies and nonprofits who were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. It can seem simple at first: if you kept paying your employees during the pandemic, the government has your back. But figuring out whether you’re eligible, and how much…

What’s the Difference Between the 2020 and 2021 Employee Retention Credit?

January 28, 2023

One of the complexities of ERC processing is that there are actually multiple laws that govern the credit, each with its own enabling rules and regulations. And because the situation has evolved so quickly, most of those rules are contained in IRS Notes — like this one, Note 2021-20, which sets out most of the…