Find out for FREE if you qualify!
Were You Self-Employed During Covid?
You may be eligible for up to $32,200 from the IRS. Click play on this interactive video to find out!
Collect Your Money in 3 Easy Steps
1. Educate Yourself
2. Become A Client
3.Get Paid
What Is The FFCRA Tax Credit —Families First Coronavirus Response Act?
In March 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was signed into law to help companies offer paid sick leave and unemployment benefits caused by COVID-19. Initially the FFCRA focused on employers with W-2 employees to help them weather the economic impact caused by the pandemic.
In December 2020 Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act which expanded the FFCRA to cover not only employers, but the self-employed. Thanks to the FFCRA expansion self-employed individuals, freelancers, independent contractors, and gig workers are now eligible for tax credits that pay you back for the time you would’ve normally spent earning money that was lost because of COVID.
Many people are now simply referring to this Self Employment Tax Credit as the “SET-C”
1. Educate Yourself
The SETC (Self-Employment Tax Credit) is a tailored tax credit program aimed at offering assistance to self-employed individuals navigating the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing the unique hurdles that self-employed workers encounter, especially during periods of illness, caregiving obligations, quarantine, and related disruptions, this credit serves as a valuable resource to help mitigate unexpected financial setbacks.
In collaboration with Jorns & Associates, we are dedicated to ensuring that you seize this invaluable opportunity. Whether you operate a self-employed business, work as a 1099 subcontractor, or manage a family-oriented small business, the SETC has the potential to provide financial support that complements more conventional forms of assistance.
Nearly all individuals with Schedule C income may qualify to varying degrees. Throughout the pandemic, millions have grappled with COVID-related difficulties, including illness, symptoms, quarantine, and caregiving responsibilities. If you have experienced any of these situations, which have adversely affected your work, the SETC is poised to act as a safety net, and it’s not too late to explore its benefits.
Key Eligibility Requirements
1.Self-Employed Status:
To potentially qualify for the SETC, you must have been self-employed during 2020 and/or 2021. This includes individuals operating as sole proprietors with employees, 1099 subcontractors, and single-member LLCs. Filing a “Schedule C” on your federal tax returns for either or both of these years is an essential prerequisite.
2.COVID-19 Impact:
If you have faced COVID-19-related challenges, such as contracting the virus, exhibiting COVID-like symptoms, undergoing testing, needing to quarantine, or providing care to a family member affected by COVID-19, you may be eligible for the SETC. Additionally, if the closure of your child’s school or daycare due to COVID-19 restrictions forced you to remain at home, affecting your ability to work, our program is designed to provide financial relief in such circumstances.
Learn more about the SET-C by clicking play (>) on the interactive video.
Watch this quick SET-C Overview!
2. Become A Client
How about a FREE Analysis?
There’s currently over a trillion dollars allocated for individuals like you, and these funds are held in the United States Treasury. However, this opportunity won’t last long, your 2020 tax credit will go away this May 2024, so time is truly running out.
And yes, the IRS may have set aside up to $32,220 for you, but they didn’t tell you about it, they hope you don’t collect it, and they will have no problem redirecting these funds elsewhere. Get what you deserve while you still have time!
When you click on the button “GET STARTED NOW,” you’ll be directed to a secure page to follow three simple steps:
- Provide your name, contact info and answer 2 questions.
- Then it will move you into our online portal where you complete some simple questions to start the process. You can learn that your spouse may be eligible too!
- Next, complete the Jorns & Associates Engagement Letter, establishing your partnership with our accounting firm. This document outlines our role as your tax preparer for the SET-C program and includes 5 years of audit assistance for your peace of mind.
Once you complete those 3 steps, you’ll be redirected immediately into your own, secure, online portal to start the application process. Simultaneously, you will receive an email with your log-in credentials for your portal. So, keep an eye out for that email from Jorns & Associates so you can log back in and share your tax information , and then we’ll start calculating your potential return. Jorns will also send email and text reminders to you!
The best part? We won’t request payment until after the work is completed! You will already know how much you qualify for, how you qualified, and what our fees are. Generally, it costs about $500, but could go up to a max of $1500 depending on the complexity of your filing and earnings.
Jorns will do all the work upfront without asking for a dime, and then when you learn how much you can get, we will request payment. You pay, we file, and then your money comes to you directly from the government (not from Jorns & Associates)! It’s that simple.
Let Jorns & Associates help you access the funds currently in the Treasury’s account and transfer them into your bank account, where they rightfully belong. Don’t miss this opportunity!
3. Get Paid
Now, it’s time for us to do what we do best: get you paid! How? Once you complete the Engagement Letter, and you’re a client of ours, you will have members of our accounting team (selected from our hundreds of staff) assigned to your file to provide you the maximum SET-C funding!
Your info is always safe and secure in an encrypted, cloud-based drive. Based on your tax info and impact due to Covid, we will let you know what your SET-C money is.
The faster you provide us all that we need to prepare your filing, the faster we can file it with the IRS. Finally, we’ll submit your SET-C claim to the IRS and you’ll get a check from the US Treasury in 3-5 months (based on IRS timelines provided in Q1 of 2024).
Best part is, there are no tax ramifications once you receive your money! The credit is not picked up as additional income because the funds you receive are a refund against the taxes you have already paid or owe; so this is your money to do with as you wish!
Please remember to ensure your spouse and/or any other family or friends who are self employed get their SET-C money too!
ELIGIBILITY
Did you miss work due to:
- Federal, state, or local lockdown orders related to COVID-19
- Quarantining or isolation order related to COVID-19
- Caring for your child whose school had closed or gone virtual
- Caring for your child because your child care provider was unavailable due to COVID-19
- Symptoms of COVID-19 or seeking a medical diagnosis
- Sickness due to vaccination side effects
- Caring for someone with COVID symptoms
- A COVID-19 vaccination appointment
- Side effects due to vaccination
What Our Clients are Saying
Frequently Asked Questions
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was passed in 2020 and was one of the earliest pieces of legislation designed to help small business owners afford the sick leave their employees had to take because of COVID-19.
The FFCRA originally focused only on employees of certain small businesses but had been expanded in 2021 to cover US citizens who were self-employed during the COVID-19 pandemic and suffered losses in business due to lockdowns or illnesses for themselves or family members.
The dates you can claim under FFCRA income tax credit are between April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021 and up to 10 days for dates between April 1, 2021 – September 30, 2021.
Here is a breakdown of the days:
Childcare related time off – up to 110 days
- 50 days between April 1,2020 and March 31, 2021
- 60 days between April 1, 2021 and September 30, 2021
Yourself or loved one (other than child) – up to 20 days
- 10 days between April 1,2020 and March 31, 2021
- 10 days between April 1, 2021 and September 30, 2021
To qualify for FFCRA credits you must have missed work because of COVID-related issues. If you were unable to work because of one of these reasons, you may be eligible:
- A government agency imposed a quarantine or isolation order.
- Your doctor recommended you self-quarantine.
- You were having COVID-19 symptoms while also waiting for an appointment with your doctor.
- You were waiting for COVID-19-related test results.
- You were getting vaccinated against COVID-19
- You were experiencing side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine.
- You took care of your children who were affected by school or daycare shutdowns.
- You took care of someone else/family members who had COVID-19 issues.
Self-employed individuals are eligible for FFCRA credit if they are out of work (or telework) due to government quarantine orders, self-quarantine, COVID-19 symptoms and seeking medical diagnosis. The credit is calculated by multiplying the number of days on leave and taking whichever amount is smaller:
- Your average daily self-employment income of year or:
- $511.
If you are unable to work (or telework) to take care of a family member who is under quarantine or to take care of a child whose child care is unavailable, you are still eligible for this credit. The credit is calculated by multiplying the number of days on leave and taking whichever amount is smaller:
- ⅔ of your average daily self-employment income or :
- $200.
We will use line 6 of the Schedule SE on your personal tax return to determine your annual pay, that is then divided by 260 (Considered the standard amount of working days in a year) to calculate your daily rate.
From there, we must determine which reason the leave was taken and that will decide what rate can be paid for the dates being claimed. For self leave, we claim your full daily rate up to $511/day. Family or childcare leave is calculated as 2/3rds of your pay up to $200/day.
It can take up to three weeks for the IRS to acknowledge the acceptance of your FFCRA credit application and up to 20 weeks from that acceptance to receive your refund via check (or possibly direct deposit.
The total FFCRA Tax credit can be up to $32,200.00 and is based on your net earnings in 2020 and in 2021.
You will have to calculate your daily average of self-employment income. This is your net earnings for the taxable year divided by 260 (the standard recognized amount of working days in a year). This allows the IRS to estimate how much you lost in wages for every day you were not able to work.
For 2020, you can earn a max potential of $15,110. But these funds must be filed by May 2024. For 2021, you can earn a max funding of $17,110 and must be filed by April of 2025. (As you can see, combining the two years, if maxed out, creates the total the $32,220)
A self-employed person in the United States, as defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), is generally considered someone to who the following applies:
- You carry on a trade or business as a sole proprietor or an independent contractor.
- You are a member of a partnership that carries on a trade or business.
- You are otherwise in business for yourself (including a part-time business or a gig worker).
And regarding the term “SCHEDULE SE”:
Often times, a self employed person does not realize that they filed a Scheduled SE.
Generally speaking the Schedule SE refers to the taxes you pay on your Self Employment money (Whereas a Schedule C is more of a Profit/Loss form you file with your Form 1040 to report income and expenses). It is recommended that if even if you show a loss or a small amount of positive income from self employment, it may be to your benefit to file Schedule SE.
And if you had net earnings of $400 or more, you MUST pay SE tax.
For this reason, many times people don’t realize they filed a Schedule SE but their accountant or tax professional did it on their behalf and the person didn’t even realize. If you are reporting your Self Employment income, you are most likely filing a Schedule SE.
The IRS defines a dependent as either a qualifying child or relative of the taxpayer. The relative can be your child, stepchild, foster child, sibling, parent, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or certain in-law relationships.
The Child Tax Credit helps families with qualifying children get a tax break. To have received a Child Tax credit or a credit for other dependents, you would have had to submit a Schedule 8821.
A child must have lived with you for more than half of the tax year. Temporary absences, such as for education or medical care, are generally counted as periods of living with you. You must have provided more than half of the relative’s total support during the tax year. The relative’s gross income must be below a certain threshold determined annually by the IRS (subject to change). It’s important to note that these are just general guidelines, and there may be additional rules and exceptions. The IRS provides detailed information in publications such as IRS Publication 501.
Examples of a Dependent:
- Child
- Parent
- Brother/Sister
- Stepparent/Stepchild
- Adoptive Daughter/Adoptive Son
- Stepbrother/Stepsister
- Half Brother/Half Sister
- Grandparent/Grandchild
- Son-in-law/Daughter-in-law
- Mother-in-law/Father-in-law
- Brother-in-law/Sister-in-law
- Uncle/Aunt
- Niece/Nephew
No. You cannot claim double benefits on days you already received payments from unemployment insurance claims.
If your standard work day includes a weekend day, or your child was in school or daycare during a weekend, then you may include them.
If you normally don’t work on weekends or your child does not go to school on weekends, you cannot claim credits for weekends that they would not have worked or taken leave anyway. The credits are only available for the days that you would have worked or taken leave if not for the COVID-19-related reasons.
Yes! This is what the FFCRA was designed to cover, especially since a lot of entrepreneurs fall into this category.
No. you can only use days you took care of your dependent.
Yes. If the physical location where your child received instruction or care is now closed, the school or place of care is “closed” for purposes of paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave. This is true even if your child is still expected or required to complete assignments.
Refunds for 2020 and 2021 will be sent to you directly by the IRS via check to the address provided on your FFCRA application.
It is possible that you remain eligible to claim FFCRA tax credits provided you earned self-employment income alongside your W2 salary in 2020 and/or 2021 (and potentially also from 2019).
Furthermore, if you receive paid leave benefits in your capacity as an employee, there could be an impact on the tax credit available to you as a self-employed individual under the FFCRA. It is important to note that claiming a double benefit for the same period is not permissible. However, in cases where your employee status does not offer comprehensive coverage, there may be an opportunity to pursue additional credits based on your self-employment income.
The Child Tax Credit helps families with qualifying children get a tax break. To have received a Child Tax credit or a credit for other dependents, you would have had to submit a Schedule 8821.
We understand Covid-19 pandemic effected everyone globally. If you did not have positive net income in 2020 because of Covid-19 restrictions, we can use your 2019 positive net income. If you have no positive net income from 2019, 2020 and 2021, then most likely you didn’t pay taxes on that money. This makes it difficult to get a tax credit if you didn’t pay taxes.
FFCRA is a tax credit not a loan. It is also not considered a grant as it’s a refund of taxes you’ve already paid.