The Employee Retention Credit (ERC), also known as the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC), is a federal program created to help small and medium sized businesses recover from the financial impact of COVID-19.
Many businesses lost revenue and were affected by government shutdowns and other mandates. The ERC is designed to support those businesses that retained employees, and lost revenue, were impacted by the mandates, or began operations in 2020 or 2021. The ERC tax code is complex, and most qualified businesses have not claimed the ERC refunds they are owed.
The ERC is separate from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and is a refundable tax credit paid by the IRS. It is not a loan and does not need to be paid back.