For employers who qualify, including borrowers who took a loan under the initial PPP, the credit can be claimed against 50 percent of qualified wages paid, up to $10,000 per employee annually for wages paid between March 13 and Dec. 31, 2020.
Qualification is determined by one of two factors for eligible employers — and one of these factors must apply in the calendar quarter the employer wishes to utilize the credit:
1. A trade or business that was fully or partially suspended or had to reduce business hours due to a government order. The credit applies only for the portion of the quarter the business is suspended, not the entire quarter.
2. If gross receipts in a calendar quarter in 2020 are below 50% of gross receipts when compared to the same calendar quarter in 2019, an employer would qualify. They are no longer eligible if in the calendar quarter immediately following their quarter gross receipts exceed 80% compared to the same calendar quarter in 2019.
You must first determine if you qualify. Then you must determine what time period you can apply this to. Once you have determined the time period, you can count up to $10,000 of each employees gross wages towards the 50% credit.
If there is any period that overlaps with the covered period of your PPP loan, you cannot count wages for both the Employee Retention Credit and PPP forgiveness.
We believe that most physician and dental practices will qualify for this credit, but need to be careful about overlap with the PPP loan. Especially if you have already received forgiveness on your first PPP loan, you need to be careful about how your approach the Employee Retention Credit calculations.
You can find more about the Employee Retention Credit on the IRS website here.