The
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 signed into law by the President on
December 27, 2020, contains significant enhancement and extension on various
business and individual tax laws. Under the new tax law, the employee retention
credit is modified, extended, and made available to PPP borrowers. The credit
can be claimed by many businesses that retained employees despite significant
decrease in revenue and can provide additional cash benefits to companies
affected by COVID-19.
The credit applies to wages paid after March 12, 2020, and before July 1, 2021 (previously only until December 31, 2020.) For 2021, the credit is also increased from 50 to 70 percent of the qualified wages with respect to each employee. This provision is an extension of the original law which was enacted on March 27, 2020 with some modifications.
Qualified Employer
Effective January 1, 2021 eligible employers to be determined on a
quarterly basis to include:
- One whose trade or
business is fully or partially suspended during the calendar quarter due
to orders from an appropriate governmental authority limiting commerce,
trade, or group meetings (for commercial, social, religious, or other
purposes) due to COVID-19, or
- An employer that experiences more than 20% decline in gross receipts for the calendar quarter during first two quarters of 2021. The 50% decline test has not changed for 2020 calendar year. For purposes of determining eligibility for gross receipt test, employers need to compare quarterly gross receipts as follows:
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*An employer may elect to compare the gross receipts for the
immediately preceding calendar quarter
to the gross receipts for the corresponding quarter in calendar year 2019.
- Employers that did not exist at the beginning of Q1 and Q2 2019 should use Q1 or Q2 2020, respectively.
- The Secretary of the Treasury will determine the time and manner of making the election.
The new law provides more favorable rules for
determining eligible employers by lowering the eligibility threshold to 20
percent in 2021 rather than 50 percent decline in gross receipts, required
for 2020 eligibility.
- Governmental employers that are colleges or universities, and
- Governmental employers that have as their principal purpose or function the provision of medical or hospital care.
Tax-exempt
organizations are eligible for the employee retention credit since the
enactment of the original law.
Qualified Employee
Under
the original law, for a company with more than 100 employees, no credit was
available for employees who were able to provide services for the employer.
However, a company with 100 and less employees were eligible for the credit
even if the employee was working.
The
new tax law has modified this provision, effective Jan. 1, 2021 this threshold
will be raised to 500 employees. As a result, companies with 500 or fewer
employees will be eligible for the credit regardless of whether employees provided any services.
Qualified Wages
The
provision that limits qualified wages to the amount the employee would have
been paid for working an equivalent amount of time during the 30 days
immediately preceding such quarter is eliminated. Additionally, the amount of qualified wages for which the
credit can be claimed includes health benefits.
Effective Jan 1, 2021 the credit has also been increased to 70% of the qualified wages and an eligible employer can claim a credit for up to $10,000 of qualified wages paid for any qualified quarter, instead of all calendar quarters. Therefore, effective January 1, 2021 the credit cap is increased to $7,000 ($10,000 qualified wages x 70% tax credit rate) for two quarters for a possible maximum benefit of $14,000 per employee. The maximum credit for 2020 remains $5,000 per employee.
Advance
payments
Small
employers may elect for any calendar quarter to receive an advance payment of
the credit. A small employer for this purpose is an employer with an average
number of full-time employees (FTE) employed during 2019 of fewer than 500. The advance
credit is limited to 70 percent of the average quarterly wages by the employer
in 2019. If an employer was not in existence in 2019, the rules are applied
using the year 2020. The Treasury department will issue guidance to allow an
advance payment of the credit. As with many provisions under the CARES Act, companies should be mindful of controlled groups and affiliate rules when determining the average FTE.
Paycheck
Protection Program
The
original rule that
prohibits an eligible employer from claiming the employee retention credit if
the employer received a PPP loan is eliminated for both 2020 and 2021. However, the credit may
not be claimed for wages used for PPP loan forgiveness calculation. An eligible
employer can elect not to take an amount of qualified wages into account for
purposes of the employee retention credit. The election is made at the time and
in the manner provided by the IRS. Additional guidance from Department of
Treasury is expected.
Lastly,
it is important to note that claiming the credit decreases the benefit of other business credits available. Qualified
employers are unable to count wages used to determine the employee retention
credit in the calculation of other credits such as the Work Opportunity Tax
Credit or the Employer Credit for Paid Family and Medical Leave. Additionally,
wages considered in determining the employee retention credit will also not be
eligible to determine the following additional credits: the research and development credit, the
Indian employment credit, the military differential wage payment credit, and
the empowerment zone employment credit.
HLB Gross Collins, P.C. is committed to bringing you the most up-to-date and accurate information. We will continue to share relevant information as the COVID-19 situation continues to develop. Please note that this information may change from the time of publication, as the news is evolving on a daily basis. As with any business, tax, or financial guidance, you should always consult a professional to determine applicability to your specific situation.