The Employee Retention Credit is a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes equal to 50% of the qualified wages an eligible employer pays to employees after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021. Eligible employers can get immediate access to the credit by reducing employment tax deposits they are otherwise required to make. Also, if the employer's employment tax deposits are not sufficient to cover the credit, the employer may get an advance payment from the IRS

Pros:

• Fully refundable tax credit

• Does not have to be repaid

• Potential credit of $5,000 - $7,000 per employee

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Best for: 

• Businesses that suspended operations due to an official COVID-19-related shut-down order

• Businesses that experienced a significant decline in gross receipts relative to the same quarter of 2019