Tax Incentives Blog

Signed into law on December 27, 2020, the Covid-19 relief bill contains a favorable update to the Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”). The Employee Retention Credit was one of the more successful components of the CARES Act, but there are several significant updates to the credit that are even more favorable for qualified businesses. Several updates can be seen below, along with a comparison to the credit terms under the CARES Act. Unless stated otherwise, the effective date of the provisions covered by the new law will be January 1, 2021.

On June 29, 2020, the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, signed into law the fiscal year 2020-2021 state budget, which included provision AB 85, limiting the ability of certain taxpayers to use net operating losses (“NOLs”) and specific business credits for the 2020, 2021, and 2022 tax years. Specifically, for tax years beginning on or after January 1,2020 and before January 1, 2023, taxpayers with a net business income or modified adjusted income of greater than or equal to $1 million will have their NOLs suspended during the period, and businesses will be capped at claiming $5 million in business credits per tax year.