“You want to make sure that you really are being assessed for it because it’s easy to try to read the rules yourself and think ‘oh, I don’t qualify, that’s not me.’ If you don’t have a tax background, it’s like if you have a mole on your neck, you’re just gonna assume it’s cancer until you’ve got a dermatologist tell you otherwise.”
— Catherine Tindall
Are you a business owner who saw your revenues plummet during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic due to government restrictions? Then you could be eligible to receive financial assistance from the government in the form of the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). Unfortunately, because of the complicated procedures in place, many business owners end up filing bad claims or worse, not file a claim at all.
Unfortunately for many business owners, the procedure for submission and evaluating whether you qualify for the credit at all is complex, and may involve digging through government announcements for the exact restriction that may have affected you. There is also the process of determining how much credit you qualify for, based on things like the wages your employees earned, and whether you paid them through the Paycheck Protection Program, among others.
The good news is that you may be eligible for up to $5000 per employee that you paid during the whole year of 2020 and $7000 per employee for three quarters during tax year 2021. The bad news is that there are several exemptions and caveats that apply, and they are enough to make anybody’s head spin. But if you have a headcount of more than 10 employees, and feel like government restrictions really impacted on your ability to operate and create revenue, then it’s worth having a tax professional evaluate your case.
In this episode, Catherine Tindall, one of the partners at Dominion Enterprise Services, a specialty CPA firm that specializes in helping businesses maximize their tax credits, gives us information about the ERC and whether you might be leaving a very significant number of dollars off the table by not filing a claim. She also talks about the consequences of filing a bad ERC claim, which can lead to an unapproved claim or worse, a stringent audit by the IRS.
In this episode, we discuss:
- What the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is all about
- How to know if you are qualified to file an ERC claim
- What the process of filing an ERC claim can look like
- Why you need to know how to avoid filing a bad ERC claim
Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:
- This episode is kindly sponsored by Sera (visit their website) and CompanyCam (visit www.companycam.com/SBM for a 14 day trial and 50% off your first two months).
- Visit www.companycam.com/SBM and use code SBM for a free 2-week trial, 1:1 training and account setup, and 50% off your first two months!
Meet the Guest:
Catherine Tindall is one of the partners at Dominion Enterprise Services, a specialty CPA firm that works with other firms and their clients to maximize their tax credits.
Dominion Enterprise Services has a Proactive Tax Planning & Compliance Strategy that is holistically designed for your business goals to maximize your cash flow/savings and minimize your stress. Unlike typical tax professionals, Dominion Enterprise Services specializes in advanced tax reduction on top of routine tax compliance work.
Visit Dominion Enterprise Service’s Website: https://dominiones.com/
Check Out Catherine’s Ebook on the top 5 ERC mistakes to avoid: https://dominiones.com/for-business-owners/
Tune in to hear the latest and greatest in business services trends on Service Business Mastery on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Service Business Mastery in your favorite podcast player.
