#10 | The Employee Retention Tax Credit

Practical Tax with Steve Moskowitz

In this episode of Practical Tax, tax attorneys Steve Moskowitz and Cliff Capdeville discuss the many ways to file for, and claim the Employee Retention Tax Credit for your business. In many cases, business owners feel like they won't qualify for a litany of reasons, but they are often misinformed. Steve and Cliff are here to shed some light on the details of the Credit, and how Moskowitz LLP can help you file and claim. Listen to the podcast and learn more! Episode Transcript Intro: You're listening to the Practical Tax podcast with tax attorney Steve Moskowitz. The Practical Tax podcast is brought to you by Moskowitz LLP, a tax law firm. Steve Moskowitz: Hello, and welcome back to the Practical Tax Podcast. I'm your host Steve Moskowitz, Senior Partner at Moskowitz LLP. Today, I'm joined by the Managing Attorney of Moskowitz LLP, Cliff Capdevielle. Our topic today is why so many business owners have completely failed to take advantage of the billions of dollars the government's made available to business owners with the Employee Retention Credit, ERC. And how you can get your share of this massive of government giveaway before it's too late. But before we jump in, a little bit about Cliff. Like I said, he's the Managing Attorney at Moskowitz LLP, a leading law firm, laser focused on tax planning and tax controversies. A tax attorney with more than 25 years experience helping business owners and investors save money on their taxes. He hails from the California Bay Area, Go Bears! And now leads our entire remote team around the world. Cliff, welcome to the show. Let's first define the Employee Retention Credit or ERC. Cliff Capdevielle: Steve, the Employee Retention Tax Credit is a refundable credit, for employers who are keeping their staff during the pandemic. This is a credit that's available to all employers including employers who took advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program, the PPP. And, today I hope we can straighten out some common misconceptions and help all of those businesses that have yet to take advantage of this credit, to do so. Thanks for having me, Steve. Steve Moskowitz: It's a pleasure. Cliff, can you tell us the difference between a refundable credit and a non-refundable credit? Cliff Capdevielle: Sure, very easy. Refundable credit is money in your pocket. So with the Employee Retention Tax Credit, businesses are receiving a refund check in the mail just like you do with your income tax refund. You can cash it, you can spend it however you want. If you wanna increase staff, if you wanna buy equipment, if you want to go on a vacation. Like I hear, you're on your way to a vacation next week. Steve Moskowitz: A working vacation Cliff 'cause I'm always there for our clients. Cliff Capdevielle: Absolutely Steve Moskowitz: So Cliff, tell me, this ERC, is this something that we'd ever have to pay back? Cliff Capdevielle: You don't have to pay it back. It's not a loan. It is a refund, just like your tax refund. You can keep it and spend it, and never worry about paying it back. And you don't have to use that money in any particular way. You don't have to use it on payrolls or any other particular purpose. Steve Moskowitz: Do I have to do something to ask forgiveness like I did with PPP? Cliff Capdevielle: You don't, this is a credit just for keeping your staff on payroll during this pandemic. And it's in addition to the PPP. So a lot of people call us every day, they're worried they're not gonna qualify for the Employee Retention Tax Credit because they already took PPP money. That's not true. You can get both. Steve Moskowitz: Is that a change in law, Cliff? Does it used to be that you couldn't get both? Cliff Capdevielle: It is exactly, well, now 2020, you could not in some months get both PPP loan and the Employee Retention Tax Credit. Starting in the fourth quarter of 2020, the law changed and now eligible employers are allowed to get both the ...