It may seem too good to be true ERC is a coup for any business – including churches!
There are two tests for eligibility:
The business/church was subject to fully or partially suspended business operations during any calendar quarter during 2020.All Alabama churches were effectively forced to close during Spring 2020.
And/ORThe business/church experienced 50% or more reduction in gross receipts in 2020 comparted to 2019.
If the business only qualifies for this test, please seek additional guidance at https://www.churchlawandtax.com/web/2021/may-2021/employee-retention-credit-churches.html for rules and calculations. Alternatively, look for the next installment for this topic which will address this opportunity.
STEP 1:
Determine FICA wages for the period 3/15/2020 through 12/31/2020 for each employee
If the church had 100 or more employees, do not include the wages of those who were not paid during suspended operations. On-line or virtual services do not replace in-person worship for the purposes of considering suspended operations.
Do not include a pastor’s wages as they are not FICA wages.
Do not include any wages paid using Payroll Protection Plan proceeds.
Do not include a person’s wages for whom less than $10,000 was paid for the year.
Wages include employer payments for qualified health plan benefits.
Wages include employee before tax payments for qualified health plan benefits.
STEP 2:
Determine credit amount
Number of people as determined in STEP 1
X multiplied by
$5,000 = amount of credit
STEP 3:
File for the refund
Using Form 941-X, complete as already submitted for the 4th quarter of 2020, except for line 26 “Refundable portion of employee retention credit”. Enter the amount determined in STEP 2.
Sign and submit according to Form 941-X instructions. A free fillable form is available at www.form-941-x.com. Instructions are available on www.irs.gov.
Use the worksheet. Do not lose out on non-refundable credits available for being in a qualified disaster zone.
REPEAT
That’s right! We can do this again for January – June 2021. Because mandates against gathering lifted by the end of 2020, the eligibility requirement for churches becomes a more complicated.
Watch for the next installment of REFUNDABLE (CASH) EMPLOYEE RETENTION CREDIT (ERC).
The North Alabama United Methodist Foundation does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.
Photo by Alexander Schimmeck on Unsplash