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meluto

12/01/21 1:40 PM

#27042 RE: jw246802005 #27041

ERC tax credit refund due back to the company

I was referring to the employee retention credit (“ERC”) from below in bold "The Company’s expected refunds; totaling $537,000" (dollar sign added by me)

most recent 10-Q

NOTE F – Employee Retention Credit



The employee retention credit (“ERC”), as originally enacted on March 27, 2020 by the CARES Act, is a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes equal to 50% of the qualified wages an eligible employer pays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. The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act (the “Relief Act”), enacted on December 27, 2020, amended, and extended the ERC. On March 1, 2021, the IRS released Notice 2021-20 to provide guidance on the original ERC, as modified by the Relief Act. The Relief Act extended and enhanced the ERC for qualified wages paid after December 31, 2020 through June 30, 2021. Under the Relief Act, eligible employers may claim a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes equal to 70% of the qualified wages an eligible employer pays to employees after December 31, 2020 through June 30, 2021. Under the American Rescue Plan Act and previously under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, the ERC was extended and expanded allowing claims through December 31, 2021 by eligible employers who retained employees during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, on November 5, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“Infrastructure Bill”) under which the ERC would terminate as of September 20, 2021 instead of December 31, 2021 and, President Biden signed the bill on November 15, 2021.



The maximum qualified wages for each employee under the current ERC is $10,000 per quarter. Also, because we have 100 or fewer full-time employees, health plan expenses borne by the Company can also be includes as qualified wages in addition to salary. To qualify for the ERC in 2021, an employer must have experienced at least a 20% reduction in gross receipts when compared to the same quarter in either 2020 or 2019. During the first quarter of 2021, the second quarter of 2021 and the third quarter of 2021, the Company qualified for the ERC when comparing its 2021 quarters with both 2020 and 2019 quarters. In August 2021, the Company’s payroll service provider processed and mailed a Form 941-X to claim a refund in the amount of $202,000 on qualified wages paid in the first quarter of 2021. Due to a change in the Form 941-X, the Company’s payroll service provider did not process and mail its Form 941-X to claim a refund in the amount of $198,000 on qualified wages paid in the second quarter of 2021 until October 28, 2021. In the middle of the third quarter of 2021, the Company began taking the ERC in our current payroll; which reduced payroll by approximately $44,000 in the third quarter of 2021. Given this, the Company did not have to amend its Form 941 for the third quarter of 2021; however the Form 941 claiming a refund in the amount of $137,000 was filed electronically with the IRS on November 1, 2021 by the Company’s payroll service provider. Upon passing of the Infrastructure Bill, the Company ceased taking the ERC in its current payroll.



The Company’s expected refunds; totaling 537,000, are included on the Condensed Balance Sheets under current assets, as well as on the Company’s Condensed Statements of Operations under other income.



Laws and regulations concerning government programs, including the Employee Retention Credit are complex and subject to varying interpretations. Claims made under the CARES Act may also be subject to retroactive audit and review. There can be no assurance that regulatory authorities will not challenge the Company’s claim to the ERC, and it is not possible to determine the impact (if any) this would have upon the Company. Although the Company has recorded $537,000 under other long term liabilities on our Condensed Balance Sheets, even if the Company’s refund claim was challenged and ultimately denied, the Company would not actually have to remit $537,000 to the IRS as that amount has already been remitted to the IRS.