Like anything that has to do with the IRS, getting an ERC refund requires documentation. The documents we need to process your claim will help us determine your eligibility, as well as guide our calculations for how much you can claim.
Gathering these documents ahead of time will speed up the process of preparing and submitting your claim to the IRS.
Here's everything you'll need to find if you want us to help you file your ERC claim.
While you won't necessarily need all of these documents for your initial pre-qualification at the beginning of the process, having them on hand can help make our initial estimate more accurate.
That's because when you fill out our initial intake form, we'll ask for some numbers. Though it's fine for you to give your best guess, referencing the necessary documents will give you a better idea of how much you could qualify for.
So, if you want to start early and get ahead of the game, here's the documents you'll want to gather:
These payroll reports should include as much information as possible. The more info they have, the more accurate we can be.
So what kind of information should be on there?
Well, ideally, they should detail each employee's gross wages, paid by dates, employee names, address of their job location, and, if applicable, their start and end dates.
Luckily, most payroll reports automatically include this kind of info, so most likely you won't have to make any tweaks or special requests.
In addition to the payroll documents, you will also need to provide additional documents that prove your eligibility to make an ERC claim.
Depending on which qualification you are planning on using for your claim(s), you may need to provide one of the following:
If you're planning on using the same qualification for every quarter, then you only need to provide one of these types of documents.
For the gross receipts qualification, that means you'll provide the gross receipts summary for each quarter you're claiming. And for the government shutdown qualification, you'll only need to confirm the shutdown orders for each of the quarters you're making a claim for.
However, if you plan on using the gross receipts qualification for some quarters and the government shutdown qualification for others, then you'll need to gather both kinds for their corresponding quarters.
Finally, if you received any money from the PPP loan program, we will need some additional information and documents in order to make sure we maximize your loan amount.
These documents include things like:
If you received more than one PPP loan, we'll need this same information for all of them, as well as the total number of PPP loans you received.
Now, while you won't need a document for everything we ask, there is some important business information that we'll still need you to provide. This information includes:
Once you provide all of this information, we can take the next step by filling out the final document for your ERC claim: Form 941-X, which is called the Adjusted Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund.
Because your original Form 941 has to be filed every quarter, it's likely yours were filed for 2020 and 2021 before legislators and the IRS clarified the program rules. That's why you need Form 941-X. It allows you to retroactively apply the program benefits by amending or updating your quarterly returns.
Now, because Form 941 is filed based on quarters, you will need to have a separate 941-X for each of those quarters. Luckily, here at ERC Go, we do all of that for you so you don't have to worry about the hassle of filling out the same five pages six or seven different times.
Remember, even if you don't have these documents all together yet, that's ok! It's possible to get started without any of it. So even if you're not sure where to go to find these documents, we can help you out.
Ready to get started?
Give us a call today! We're here to help you with every step of the process, from initial consultation to document gathering and analysis, all the way to filing and even receiving your check.