Putting it simply, the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is exactly what it sounds like—business owners are being rewarded for their efforts to keep employees on payroll during the pandemic. We are working closely with decision makers in Washington on this nationwide effort to help the U.S. economy not only recover from the pandemic, but to come back stronger than before.

Congress recently passed a $1.9 trillion COVID-relief bill to streamline this recovery, and the Employee Retention Credit is one of the most lucrative opportunities business owners should take advantage of as we work towards our future and leave this pandemic behind us.

Below you will find additional information to better understand the ERC, estimate your credits, understand how you can benefit, and start the process of working with alliantgroup.

The ERC has gone through significant updates, so even if you or your advisor have reviewed this credit before, we encourage you to take another look with one of our specialists. Unfortunately, the program is not yet living up to its full potential because many business owners are prematurely disqualifying themselves due to misinformation and rumors about who does or doesn’t qualify.

The overarching theme for businesses to focus on is how the coronavirus pandemic impacted our economy as a whole…so even if your business grew or was deemed an essential business during the pandemic, there are more qualifying factors to look at before you disqualify yourself.

This payroll tax credit is available to essential and non-essential businesses in any industry who endured the effects of the pandemic. Government orders—on federal, state, and local levels—are a major factor that many business owners had to adapt to over the last year and a half. Examples of affected businesses include a restaurant that could not let customers dine indoors or a manufacturer that had to slow their operations due to new health and safety restrictions.

Here are some impacts to consider that qualify your business for the Employee Retention Credit:

• Full shutdowns
• Partial shutdowns
• Interrupted operations
• Supply chain interruptions
• Inability to access equipment
• Limited capacity to operate
• Inability to work with your vendors
• Reduction in services or goods offered to your customers
• Cut down in your hours of operation
• Shifting hours to increase sanitation of your facility

with 681 U.S. employees received $4,687,741 in federal and state credits

with 107 U.S. employees received $734,183 in federal and state credits

with 41 U.S. employees received $296,469 in federal and state credits