Outdoor Businesses and ERTC

The Santa Monica finish line of the LA Marathon, where I was in charge of marketing

STOP THE PRESSES: The ERTC program has been temporarily paused (as of 9.15.2023). Will share more information when I have it.

Last year my friend Adam Weiss called me to ask if I had heard about this arcane government program that was refunding certain companies up to $26,000 per employee, under what was called the employee retention tax credit (ERTC).

I admitted that I’d never heard of it. At that time, very few people had, and even fewer knew how ERTC worked. Adam, as a finance industry veteran and owner of several restaurants that survived pandemic lockdowns, had successfully applied for the credit and learned a lot in the process. Then he started helping other businesses apply for ERTC. After he explained the program to me, I referred some of my existing clients to Adam, and they received surprisingly helpful refunds (there’s no restriction on what the funds can be used for).

Now, in collaboration with Adam (and his Merkle Tree business), I’m helping other clients and friends with the ERTC process. The program works really well with outdoor events businesses, most of which were severely impacted during the pandemic. And because I’ve spent 20 years working with outdoor industry brands and events, I would be remiss if I did not help my friends turn over every stone to help regain some of the ground they lost in 2020 and 2021.

Here’s how ERTC works:

The Employee Retention Tax Credit provides certain eligible companies up to $26,000 per employee as a refund of federal payroll taxes paid against eligible wages during portions of 2020 and 2021. It isn’t a loan and does not need to be repaid.

Who’s Eligible:

1. Businesses and 501c3s that had W2 employees during 2020 and/or 2021, with no more than 100 full time employees for 2020, and up to 500 full time employees for 2021.
2. Businesses that meet any of the above criteria may qualify for a refund if they can show a material impact to their business (a substantial revenue decline or a full or partial suspension of their operations) due to a local, state, or federal Covid-related regulation. This is where we come in.

Along with my partners, we’ve helped hundreds of businesses with their ERTCs, from assessing their eligibility to calculating the maximum compliant refund amounts and creating all the necessary documentation for a successful filing.

Feel free to reach out for more information, as the program won’t be around forever. PAbraham @ ABRHM . com