JR Armstrong, my go-to CPA at May and Company introduced me to the Tri-Merit group. The have made it their point to be experts on the ERC, and have made some of the grey area situations I've run into a little more clear. Best of all- it's not too late! Practice owners have until 12/31/21 to review and amend their 2020 payroll filings.
Eligibility requirements, clarified:
Shut Down Orders Defined
Shutdown orders aren't just what the governor of a state says. They can come from a mayor, county, or even in certain cases the fire department. For example, in Illinois, the governor explicitly permitted eye care centers to remain open, but that doesn't mean practices don't qualify based on local regulations.
Reduced Capacity
In the event that your practice wasn't completely shut down but was required to reduce the number of patients seen your practice may be able eligible if orders impacted business by 10% in some notable fashion such as revenues or hours worked by staff. This number could be quite large for practices in stricter states.
The ERC and PPP
One trick is that the ERC cannot overlap with PPP funds dedicated to payroll, but to the extent that payroll exceeds PPP coverage, it can be used. PPP uses can also be massaged to conform with PPP guidelines and still create payroll eligible for the ERC.
If you did not apply for the ERC or think you're eligible for more than you put in for, I am holding a webinar with Randy Crabtree at Tri-Merit this Thursday- please join us!
Employee Retention Tax Credit Deep Dive
with Randy Crabtree at Tri-Merit
Thursday, July 8th
8pm EST | 7pm CT | 6pm MT | 5pm PT