Disappointing News for Employers: Employee Retention Credit Ends Before Fourth Quarter of 2021

The Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”) of the March 2020 Cares Act provided aid to small businesses that did not qualify for Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans. Congress extended the ERC twice, finally settling on December 31, 2021 as the end date for eligible employers to participate in this program. 

On August 4, 2021, the IRS issued Notice 2021-49 to provide additional clarity on updates to the ERC for the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2021, signaling to businesses and tax professionals that the credit would be in play for the entirety of 2021.

New legislation now says otherwise.

The Infrastructure Bill signed by President Biden on Nov. 15 contains a provision that ends the employee retention credit retroactively to September 30, 2021, instead of the previous December 31, 2021 sunset date. This means that employers can only claim the credit for wages paid through the end of September 2021. The legislation does not impact the ability or timing for employers to claim the credit for either 2020 or the first three calendar quarters in 2021.  

It should be noted that this is not a cut-off for ERC claims.  Employers will be still able to claim the credit for 2020 and/or the first three calendar quarters in 2021.  These claims must be filed within three years of the original due date of Form 941, with respect to the credit being claimed within the quarter.  

This credit is a refundable credit that that can be up to $5,000 per employee in 2020 and up to $7,000 per employee, per quarter in 2021 (max $21,000 for three quarters in 2021). 

The Tax Services group at Schneider Downs has experience consulting with businesses on all aspects of the Employee Retention Credit. For more information on how your business can take advantage of the ERC and other relevant grants under COVID-19 tax legislation, please reach out to one of the contacts below or a member of your Schneider Downs team. 

Matthew Werner – Shareholder, Tax Advisory Services
412-697-5403
[email protected]

Ross Alessandro, III – Shareholder, Credits and Incentives
412-697-5637
[email protected]

 

You’ve heard our thoughts… We’d like to hear yours

The Schneider Downs Our Thoughts On blog exists to create a dialogue on issues that are important to organizations and individuals. While we enjoy sharing our ideas and insights, we’re especially interested in what you may have to say. If you have a question or a comment about this article – or any article from the Our Thoughts On blog – we hope you’ll share it with us. After all, a dialogue is an exchange of ideas, and we’d like to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].

Material discussed is meant for informational purposes only, and it is not to be construed as investment, tax, or legal advice. Please note that individual situations can vary. Therefore, this information should be relied upon when coordinated with individual professional advice.

© 2023 Schneider Downs. All rights-reserved. All content on this site is property of Schneider Downs unless otherwise noted and should not be used without written permission.

our thoughts on
Automobile, Tax BY Brett Cubellis
Explaining the Transfer/Advance Payment of Clean Energy Credits and Energy Credits Online Registration
New Research and Development Capitalization Requirement Shuffles System
Contractors May Benefit From SALT Cap Workaround
2023 Legislative & Regulatory Update
Tax BY Kirk Mitchell
Can “Moore” Tax be Refunded from IRS? How to Protect Your Potential Claim for Refund of §965 Foreign Corporation Transition Tax
Fraud, Tax BY Charlotte Garraway
5 Red Flags of Fraudulent ERC Providers
Register to receive our weekly newsletter with our most recent columns and insights.
Have a question? Ask us!

We’d love to hear from you. Drop us a note, and we’ll respond to you as quickly as possible.

Ask us
contact us
Pittsburgh

This site uses cookies to ensure that we give you the best user experience. Cookies assist in navigation, analyzing traffic and in our marketing efforts as described in our Privacy Policy.

×