Clarus Survey Finds Nearly 40 percent of Businesses Have Never Participated in Government Incentive Programs Prior to PPP (and how you can take advantage of them).
As the tax day deadline approaches, business owners should familiarize themselves with the federal and state incentive programs that have been set up to support them this year and beyond.
In the past, the American Rescue Plan aimed to deliver $5tn in stimulus to the economy, with a significant amount earmarked towards funding small businesses.
However, many business owners still aren’t taking advantage of them, according to a new study from Clarus, the leader in world-class technology that enables every business to unlock the full value of tax employment incentives for innovation and growth.
According to a recent survey of 500 business decision makers, 62 percent of businesses hoped to leverage incentive programs in 2021; however, 40 percent say they haven’t participated prior to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Nearly half (44 percent) say they haven’t participated because they don’t know if their company qualifies. And more than one-third say it’s because they “don’t need it.”
“Our mission is to help more businesses access the incentive funds that are intended to help them,” said Brent Johnson, co-founder of Clarus. “For small and midsize businesses, in particular, the process to understand and maximize these benefits is a complicated one, which is why our technology helps to simplify, manage and automate it from end-to-end. By doing the heavy lifting, Clarus enables businesses to focus on their core tasks while ensuring they can unlock the funds that help them grow – something that has become paramount…”
Nearly four in 10 businesses say they manage incentive programs on their own and 34 percent rely on their accountant/tax advisor to stay up-to-date on changes and opportunities for incentive programs, including new decisions being made in Congress. The study also shows that an overwhelming majority (88 percent) of businesses would be more willing to use a solution to manage incentive programs if it was backed by accountants.
The Clarus cloud-based software was created by tax and technology experts and is used by businesses and CPAs to help streamline the process of claiming tax credits. With its custom software, Clarus provides access, compliance and clarity to better support businesses and ensure more companies can leverage lucrative incentive programs.
“For our business, tax credits are essential – and by better understanding what’s available, we can claim credits that are out there for us. And the more we can claim, the more we can reduce taxes and grow to support our customers,” said D’Ann Anderson, Vice President of Operations at CornerStone Staffing. “Clarus fights for us to help us get the most tax credits available and has become an invaluable resource as a result.”
Clarus monitors more than 60 state and federal tax incentive programs and has helped companies secure more than $175MM in incentive dollars. For more information, visit claruswotc.com.
About Clarus
Clarus Solutions transforms cash flow for businesses through employment tax credit opportunities. Founded by tax experts, Clarus believes in the power of tax credits for improving business finances and built its cloud-based platform to help more businesses unlock the full value of federal and state incentive programs. Backed by technology and unparalleled client service, Clarus collaborates with companies to help them understand their qualifications and delivers actionable insights for leveraging programs that impact hiring decisions and fundamentally improve the economics of their business.