Employers of all sizes may be eligible for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC)! The ERC is a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes that can provide an employer with up to $5,000 per employee in 2020. It's important to note that not every employer qualifies. To be eligble, employers must have either experieced a full or partial shutdown due to COVID-19 orders from a governmental authority, or seen their gross receipts decline by more than 50% compared to the same quarter in 2019.

Also, businesses that receive Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans are generally not eligble for the ERC. However, if an employer has already received PPP funds and then experiences an eligble shutdown or gross receipts decline after receiving those funds, they can apply for both programs as long as they use them in different quarters of 2020. Additionally, employers whose operations were fully or partially suspended during any calendar quarter due to orders from a governmental authority limiting commerce, travel or group meetings due to COVID-19 aren't required to show a revenue decline for such quarter; however these employers must still meet other requirements in order to qualify for the credit.

In conclusion, the Employee Retention Credit is an excellent way for many businesses who have been affected by COVID-19 to recieve much needed relief! Employers should take care when reviewing eligibilty criteria and it's also important to remember that any business who receives PPP funds may still qualifying depending on when they experience shut down orders or declines in revenue.