Businesses across almost every industry can qualify for the Employee Retention Credit. Small businesses, startups, nonprofits, corporations, LLCs, and companies of all sizes are eligible for the ERC tax credit.

The easiest way to find out if you qualify for the Employee Retention Credit is to reach out to our professionals and they will walk you through the process in 10 minutes. But if you’re looking to dig a little deeper on your own, read on!

There are only two qualifications for the ERC tax credit, and they are different for 2020 and 2021. To qualify, a business must first employ less than a certain threshold of full-time employees. Second, the business must have either faced a nominal disruption of its typical operations mandated by government order OR endured a considerable loss of income during the pandemic.

Another complexity of ERC qualification is that your business doesn’t have to retain an employee throughout the entire pandemic, or even a complete year, to qualify. The ERC, and payroll taxes in general, are submitted every quarter, meaning that any wages paid during that quarter, up to the wage cap, can be declared as “eligible wages.”

As you can see, ERC eligibility becomes quite complicated rather quickly, which is why we recommend seeking professional assistance from a reputable tax credit provider.

The rules regarding who qualifies for the ERC, and how much money a business can receive, are different for 2020 and 2021. The ERC qualifications for the 2021 tax year are more accessible than 2020, meaning that many businesses may qualify for a sizable ERC refund for 2021, but receive nothing for 2020.