NCACPA worked with the office of Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) this month in support of action to ensure that businesses can fully participate in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and claim the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC).
Following our meeting with his legislative staff, Senator Burr co-signed this letter with Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) to encourage federal regulators to issue guidance making it clear that businesses can use PPP and ERTC assistance to keep workers on the payroll, so long as employers do not “double-dip” by receiving PPP forgiveness and claiming the ERTC for the same wages paid to employees.
Senators Burr and Hassan co-sponsored the Employer Assistance Coordination Act, which became part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, passed by Congress and signed into law by the president in December. Prior to the passage of the Burr-Hassan bill, struggling employers could either participate in the PPP or claim the ERTC, but could not benefit from both forms of assistance.
Since PPP recipients were unable to receive the ERTC last year, many employers reported more wages than they needed to on their applications for PPP forgiveness. The letter urges the IRS and Treasury Department to clarify that the filing of a PPP loan forgiveness application does not constitute an election to forgo the ERTC with respect to the amount of wages reported on the application exceeding the amount of wages necessary for loan forgiveness.
The AICPA also advocated for federal guidance on this matter.