No one is gatekeeping the secret to running a successful business, but if there were a special sauce, we probably wouldn’t add a public health crisis into the mix. Between school closures and months-long lockdowns, you’d imagine the small business ecosystem to crumble amid a pandemic. While it did falter, it eventually managed to steady itself. In 2021, 5.4 million people applied to start new businesses — a 20 percent increase over any previous year. While this is positive growth, small businesses still face new economic obstacles like inflation and the risk of recession. Women are proving to be resilient in the face of these challenges, with 63 percent expecting revenue to increase over the next 12 months.
Data shows women-owned businesses are becoming more “plentiful, profitable, and beneficial to the economy,” but that growth has been hard-won. Recent research argues that women-owned businesses and entrepreneurs were adversely affected by COVID-19, partially due to increased family responsibilities and a lack of economic support. Although programs like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) offered economic assistance to millions of borrowers, this relief support only reached 29 percent of Black-owned business applicants, compared to the 60 percent of white ones. And yet, Black women-owned businesses are vital to the economy, as they’re the driving force behind a record-breaking number of businesses just as they were pre-pandemic.
If you find yourself among this group of small business owners, you’re probably wondering: what’s next? You may be hoping to open a new location or increase your employee headcount, but expanding a business requires money and men-owned businesses are still generating more revenue than women. While most of the economic relief programs established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act have expired (the PPP ended in May 2021), there’s still time for small businesses to claim relief from the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) — and it may be the best chance for women to get a leg up on the competition.
Like the PPP, the ERC was a section of the CARES Act created to encourage small business employers to retain existing employees throughout 2020 and for the first three quarters of 2021. The offer includes a generous payroll tax refund claimed directly through the U.S. Treasury. The ERC is not a loan — it’s your business’s refund to spend on expenses, like hiring new talent or paying off lingering debts. Since its initial rollout, the ERC has undergone several expansions and amendments by Congress, allowing more small business owners the opportunity to claim the payroll tax refund they deserve.
While it’s not impossible to file and claim the ERC alone, enlisting the help of an ERC originator is an easier approach to getting the maximum refund your business may be eligible to receive — and a fighting chance of reading through over 200 pages of tax code. ERC originator Innovation Refunds* specializes in ERC assistance and, so far, has processed over $3 billion in payroll tax refunds for small businesses to refund their dream. The team of tax professionals provided by Innovation Refunds can walk you through each step of the process, from determining your eligibility to filing your claim and receiving your business’s refund.
But time is running out: For most businesses, the deadline to file amended returns for 2020 begins April 15, 2024. According to the IRS, the refundable tax credit is 50 percent of up to $10,000 in wages paid by an eligible employer whose business has been financially impacted by COVID-19. Eligible businesses can receive a refund of up to $5,000 per employee for all of 2020 and up to $7,000 per employee kept on the payroll for the first three quarters of 2021, potentially leaving you with up to $26,000 per employee.
The best way to make sure you get what your business deserves is to start now — it takes around eight minutes to see if your business qualifies for ERC assistance. Learn more about how to apply for ERC assistance at Innovation Refunds.
*Innovation Refunds does not offer tax or legal advice. We solely provide ERC assistance and recommend seeking advice from our network of highly qualified independent tax or legal professionals regarding your specific situation. Please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about eligibility, fees, and other information related to our services.
This advertising content was produced in collaboration between Vox Creative and our sponsor, without involvement from Vox Media editorial staff.