Amy Langfelder

CK Principal

Many small businesses have received refunds by claiming the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) which had expanded opportunities under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. If you have not yet claimed the ERC, time will be running out soon and you will want to check the availability for this payroll credit before it is too late. To qualify for the ERC, you will want to review our blog.

As a reminder, the ERC is claimed by filing an amended payroll tax return for the quarter in which you qualified. The IRS regulations require amended payroll tax forms to be filed by the later of the following:

• 3 years from the date in which the original Form 941 was filed or
• 2 years from the date the tax was paid.

However, the IRS considers Form 941 for a calendar year as filed on April 15 of the succeeding year as long as the original 941 was filed by this date. This consideration by the IRS is allowing you to still claim the ERC for calendar quarters in 2020 up to April 15, 2024 and for calendar quarters in 2021 up to April 15, 2025.

While the ERC offers an opportunity for significant refunds, it is important for you to confirm your eligibility before claiming the credit. There is increased scrutiny on companies trying to fraudulently solicit claims related to ERC. In response to rising concerns of fraudulent claims for ERC, the IRS recently ordered an immediate moratorium on processing new ERC claims through at least December 31, 2023.  The IRS will continue to process ERC claims received prior to the moratorium however processing times are expanding due to the fraud concerns and the increased review time needed for the claims.

We are available to assist you in determining your qualifications and the preparation of the associated amended payroll tax returns. Please contact Cray Kaiser at (630) 953-4900 for additional information.