HCAF: The Employee Retention Tax Credit – What Is It and Who Is Eligible?

The Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) represents, for many, the single largest small business stimulus in US history behind PPP loans. However, because PPP loans understandably got all the attention in 2020 and early 2021 with PPP 2nd-draw, many businesses don’t understand how the tax credits work, how much stimulus is available, and how to get it. The Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) was introduced as part of the CARES Act and included tax credits for businesses to retain employees during the pandemic. The  ERTC is a refundable tax credit that can be claimed when eligible employers report their total qualified wages for purposes of the  ERTC for each calendar quarter on their federal employment tax returns. Due to new legislation, employers can now RETROACTIVELY obtain both a PPP loan AND claim the ERTC.