Recovery Startup Business

Section 3134(c)(5) of the Code defines a “recovery startup business” as an employer (i) that began carrying on any trade or business after February 15, 2020, (ii) for which the average annual gross receipts of the employer (as determined under rules similar to the rules under section 448(c)(3) of the Code) for the 3-taxable-year period ending with the taxable year that precedes the calendar quarter for which the credit is determined does not exceed $1,000,000, and (iii) that is not otherwise an eligible employer due to a full or partial suspension of operations or a decline in gross receipts. Section 3134(b)(1)(B) provides that in the case of an eligible employer that is a recovery startup business, the amount of the credit allowed under subsection 3134(a) (after application of the limit under subsection 3134(b)(1)(A)) for each of the third and fourth calendar quarters of 2021 cannot exceed $50,000.

​

Section III.A. of Notice 2021-20 provides that for purposes of the employee retention credit, “trade or business” has the same meaning as when used in section 162 of the Code other than the trade or business of performing services as an employee. Section 3134(c)(5)(A) of the Code provides that a recovery startup business is an employer that began carrying on a trade or business after February 15, 2020. Therefore, the determination of when an employer “began carrying on a trade or business” is made in the same manner as for purposes of section 162. In general, for purposes of section 162, a taxpayer has not begun carrying on a trade or business “until such time as the business has begun to function as a going concern and performed those activities for which it was organized.” Richmond Television Corp. v. U.S., 345 F.2d 901, 907 (4th Cir. 1965), vacated and remanded on other grounds per curiam, 382 U.S. 68 (1965), on remand, 354 F.2d 410 (4th Cir. 1965), overruled on other grounds; NCNB Corporation v. United States, 684 F.2d 285 (4th Cir. 1982); see also Rev. Rul. 81- 150, 1981-1 C.B. 119.

​

Accordingly, in the third and fourth calendar quarters of 2021, a recovery startup business that is a small eligible employer within the meaning of section 3134(c)(3)(A)(ii) may treat all wages paid with respect to an employee during the quarter as qualified wages.

​