AGC-Backed Bill to Extend Employee Retention Tax Credit Introduced in Senate
On February 10, Senators Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) introduced AGC-supported legislation to extend the employee retention tax credit (ERTC) through the end of 2021. The Senate bill mirrors AGC-supported legislation introduced in the House of Representatives last month by Reps. Carol Miller (R-W.Va.) and Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.).
The ERTC, created as part of the CARES Act in 2020, was extended and expanded through the end of 2021, but was subsequently ended early (on September 30, 2021) after passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which rolled back the credit as a “pay-for.” Unfortunately, due to the protracted negotiations between House and Senate leaders, the bill didn’t become law until well after September 30, meaning that some contractors who claimed the credit in the fourth quarter will face a retroactive tax increase absent Congressional action.