Employee Retention Credit Documentation Template

All states Tax Law Updated August 24, 2026 Free Word and PDF

EMPLOYEE RETENTION CREDIT — POST-FILING RECORDS AND AUTHORITY AUDIT PACKET

DO NOT USE THIS PACKET TO CLAIM OR CALCULATE A CREDIT. It organizes records for an already-filed, pending, examined, adjusted, withdrawn, disallowed, refunded, or contemplated position. Every legal and numerical rule must be entered from current official authority for the exact period and procedural posture.

1. Matter control

Item Verified record
Employer legal name [________________________________]
Employer identification number [________________________________]
Address and responsible contact [________________________________]
Entity and tax classification during each period [________________________________]
Return preparer / payroll provider [________________________________]
Tax counsel and authorization record [________________________________]
Related entities and ownership changes [________________________________]
Claim, refund, examination, appeal, collection, or litigation status [________________________________]
IRS control, claim, or examination number [________________________________]
Packet custodian and version date [________________________________]

Do not place unredacted taxpayer credentials, employee identity data, bank information, or protected communications in a broadly shared copy.

2. Current-authority register

Complete a separate row for every period, eligibility theory, wage rule, procedural step, and form revision. A later procedural rule may differ from the substantive rule for the original period.

Issue Period / transaction Current official authority or IRS material Operative text / revision Applied conclusion Checked by / on
Credit availability and covered period [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Eligible-employer definition and exclusions [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Aggregation and common-control treatment [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Government-order route [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Gross-receipts route and comparison period [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Startup, successor, acquisition, or other special route [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Full-time-employee or employer-size rule [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Qualified wages and health-plan expenses [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Related-person, owner, or other excluded wages [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Credit rate, wage base, cap, and calculation [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Coordination with payroll, income-tax, grant, loan, or other credit programs [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Claim form, revision, signature, attachment, and filing method [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Limitations, suspension, extension, transition, or special procedural rule [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Withdrawal, disclosure, repayment, protest, appeal, or examination route [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Recordkeeping and preservation period [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]

3. Return and claim status

Use one row for each employment-tax period and each filing affecting it.

Period Original return filed Amended return / claim Date and method Amount stated IRS status Refund / assessment / adjustment
[________] [________] [________] [________] $[________] [________] [________]
[________] [________] [________] [________] $[________] [________] [________]
[________] [________] [________] [________] $[________] [________] [________]

Attach the exact signed return, schedules, form revision, instructions relied on, proof of filing, transcripts, notices, and payment or refund records.

4. Employer and aggregation reconstruction

Question Facts and source record Reviewer conclusion
Entities included in the employer group [________________________________] [________________________________]
Ownership, control, affiliation, predecessor, successor, or acquisition facts [________________________________] [________________________________]
Tax-exempt, governmental, tribal, household, foreign, or other status issue [________________________________] [________________________________]
Employee-count method and measurement period used [________________________________] [________________________________]
Payroll systems, paymasters, professional-employer arrangements, and reporting agents [________________________________] [________________________________]
Locations, trades, businesses, and operational units [________________________________] [________________________________]

5. Period-by-period eligibility record

Period Eligibility route asserted Exact trigger and test used Facts supporting trigger Contrary facts / uncertainty Final filed position
[________] [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
[________] [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
[________] [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]

Do not combine periods merely because the same event or advisor was involved.

6. Government-order route record

Complete only for a position that actually relied on a qualifying governmental-order theory.

Item Record
Issuing government and official source [________________________________]
Order title, number, text, and archived copy [________________________________]
Effective, modified, suspended, and ended dates [________________________________]
Persons, locations, and operations legally covered [________________________________]
Mandatory restriction distinguished from guidance or recommendation [________________________________]
Employer operations before, during, and after the order [________________________________]
Affected goods, services, hours, capacity, suppliers, travel, or meetings [________________________________]
Remote-work, alternate-supplier, modification, and continuity facts [________________________________]
Quantitative and qualitative impact evidence [________________________________]
Counsel's route conclusion and authority [________________________________]

7. Gross-receipts route record

Period Comparison period Receipts definition and source Current-period amount Comparison amount Calculation Reviewer conclusion
[________] [________] [________] $[________] $[________] [________] [________]
[________] [________] [________] $[________] $[________] [________] [________]

Reconcile the calculation to general ledgers, tax returns, bank records, acquisition/disposition records, related entities, and any accounting-method adjustment.

8. Special eligibility route

Issue Record
Route asserted [________________________________]
Formation, acquisition, startup, successor, or other key dates [________________________________]
Receipts or other threshold calculation [________________________________]
Excluded or related businesses [________________________________]
Period and cap applied on filed claim [________________________________]
Current authority and reviewer conclusion [________________________________]

9. Employee and wage inventory

Use employee-level protected workpapers outside this packet when appropriate.

Employee / coded ID Period Services performed / not performed Wages considered Health-plan amount Inclusion / exclusion reason Payroll source
[________] [________] [________] $[________] $[________] [________] [________]
[________] [________] [________] $[________] $[________] [________] [________]

Record owner, relative, leave, severance, tip, bonus, commission, union, pre-tax, health-plan, and other classification issues without assuming their treatment.

10. Coordination and duplicate-benefit audit

Program, credit, deduction, grant, loan, or reimbursement Period and amount Wages or costs allocated there Source record ERC treatment and authority
[________] $[________] $[________] [________] [________]
[________] $[________] $[________] [________] [________]

Reconcile allocations to applications, forgiveness or award records, income-tax returns, payroll credits, amended returns, and general-ledger entries. This packet states no automatic priority or prohibition.

11. Filed calculation reconstruction

Do not calculate from this blank table. Copy the filed workpaper exactly, then have the reviewer identify every rule and formula used.

Period Wage base used Rate used Credit stated Adjustments / credits Net filed amount Reviewer variance
[________] $[________] [________] $[________] $[________] $[________] $[________]
[________] $[________] [________] $[________] $[________] $[________] $[________]

Per-employee workpaper location: [________________________________]

Rounding, deposit, advance, interest, penalty, or other reconciliation: [________________________________]

12. Income-tax and financial-statement coordination

Item Original treatment Adjustment made or proposed Return / period Authority and reviewer
Wage or expense deduction [________] [________] [________] [________]
Receivable, refund, reserve, or uncertain position [________] [________] [________] [________]
State or local tax treatment [________] [________] [________] [________]
Owner, partner, shareholder, or beneficiary reporting [________] [________] [________] [________]

13. IRS and advisor communications

Date Sender / recipient Document or communication Issue Response deadline from actual notice Action and proof
[________] [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
[________] [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]

Preserve engagement letters, organizer responses, promoter materials, fee arrangements, calculations, advice, disclosures, call notes, portals, and drafts according to counsel's privilege and retention instructions.

14. Procedural route and deadline control

Possible action Current official authority / notice instruction Trigger and deadline Form / filing destination Decision
Supply information or respond to examination [________] [________] [________] [________]
Correct, supplement, withdraw, repay, or disclose [________] [________] [________] [________]
Seek administrative review, protest, or appeal [________] [________] [________] [________]
Address refund, assessment, collection, interest, or penalty [________] [________] [________] [________]
Amend a related income-tax or employment-tax return [________] [________] [________] [________]
Preserve a judicial route [________] [________] [________] [________]

No action is selected by this packet.

15. Document index

  • ☐ Original and amended employment-tax returns
  • ☐ Exact form revisions and instructions
  • ☐ Proof of filing, transcripts, refunds, payments, and account records
  • ☐ Government orders and archived official pages
  • ☐ Gross-receipts ledgers and reconciliation
  • ☐ Payroll, time, and health-plan workpapers
  • ☐ Aggregation and ownership records
  • ☐ Loan, grant, forgiveness, and other-credit records
  • ☐ Income-tax returns and amendments
  • ☐ IRS notices, examination requests, submissions, and receipts
  • ☐ Advisor, preparer, payroll-provider, and promoter records
  • ☐ Legal and accounting review memoranda

Custodian, storage, access, hold, and destruction instruction: [________________________________]

16. Reviewer conclusion

Question Conclusion
Filed position supported as submitted [________________________________]
Correction, disclosure, withdrawal, repayment, protest, or other action recommended [________________________________]
Additional records required [________________________________]
Unresolved legal or factual issue [________________________________]
Next deadline from an actual notice or verified authority [________________________________]
Responsible person and completion date [________________________________]

17. Factual custodian certification

I certify only that I am authorized to assemble these records and that the attached copies and factual entries are accurate to the best of my knowledge after reasonable review. I do not certify eligibility, a credit amount, a tax return, a legal conclusion, or the absence of contrary facts.

Custodian: [________________________________]

Title: [________________________________]

Signature: ________________________________________

Date: [__/__/____]

Tax counsel / return-preparer review: [________________________________]

Insert Image

Insert Table

Watch Ezel in action (sample case)Choose a plan

All changes saved
Save
Export
Export as DOCX
Export as PDF
Generating PDF...
employee_retention_credit_documentation_universal.pdf
Ready to export as PDF or Word
AI is editing...
Chat
Review

Draft it in the editor

The AI drafts each section from your answers and you review every word. Drafting from scratch takes hours; finish yours for $99 one time.

  • Built on this template
    Uses the state version and the statutes it cites.
  • Formatted like the template
    Captions, numbering and layout stay intact.
  • AI editing
    Rewrite any section from your own notes.
  • Export as PDF and Word
    Yours to review, sign, or file.
Secure checkout via Stripe
Need to customize this document?

Related legal templates

The same document for another state, and more Tax Law forms.

More Tax Law templates

Audit Reconsideration Request Letter Charitable Remainder Trust Summary Collection Due Process Hearing Request Contemporaneous Transfer Pricing Documentation Policy Cost Segregation Study Engagement Letter Estate Tax Planning Checklist Browse all

About this template

Last updated
August 24, 2026
Citations checked
August 24, 2026
Jurisdiction
All states
Category
Tax Law

Tax law covers the paperwork that documents income, deductions, disputes, and settlements with the IRS and state tax authorities. Protests, offers in compromise, installment agreement requests, and appeals each have their own forms, supporting documentation, and strict deadlines. Well-prepared tax correspondence is often the difference between a negotiated resolution and an enforcement action with levies, liens, or penalties.

Not legal advice

This template is provided for informational purposes. We recommend having an attorney review any legal document before signing, especially for high-value or complex matters.

Checked against the law it cites

A reviewer verified this template's legal citations against the official source on August 24, 2026.

Draft your Employee Retention Credit Documentation Template in the editor

Answer a few questions, let the AI editor draft each section from your answers, review it, and download Word and PDF. $99 one time, or $249 per month for every document and every Ezel app.