New SBAM partnership helps small businesses negatively impacted by COVID-19 pandemic

To ensure small businesses impacted by the pandemic receive all of the assistance they are eligible for, the Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM) on Thursday announced a new partnership with ERC Today.

Employee Retention Credits (ERC) were created in 2020 to incentivize businesses to keep staff on the payroll during the pandemic. It gives eligible employers payroll tax credits for wages and health insurance paid to employees. Originally companies were only eligible for ERC or the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), not both. Those guidelines changed in 2021 and now businesses could be eligible for PPP and ERC.

“At SBAM, our goal is simple – to raise awareness of all the resources available to small businesses, including the Employee Retention Credit,” said SBAM Senior Vice President Scott Lyon. “Eligible business owners negatively impacted by COVID-19 can claim refundable tax credits for employees on their payroll in 2020 and 2021. ERC Today offers a no-risk opportunity to see if your company qualifies for this program.”

ERC Today, an accounting firm that specializes exclusively in ERC recovery, is providing a free ERC analysis for SBAM members. They helped more than 1,500 businesses receive nearly $170 million in payroll tax refunds from the IRS in 2020 and 2021. Businesses can take an online qualification questionnaire to determine whether your business is eligible for the tax credit. A second questionnaire can estimate the amount of recovery.

“We worked with a lot of business owners to secure their credits during the ’20-’21 pandemic period,” said John Galles, of ERC Today. “Now we want to help ensure that all eligible Michigan businesses recover the tax credits they earned by retaining their team members through difficult times.”

Eligible business could qualify for thousands of dollars per eligible employee. The IRS anticipates over 70% of businesses and non-profits, from a wide range of industries, to be good candidates for the ERC, but that only about 15% of eligible businesses have taken advantage of it so far. More information on the partnership and how members can sign up is available at www.sbam.org/employee-retention-credit/. Small businesses can also reach out to their accountant or CPA.