Ready to get your FFCRA filed? Us, too! We’ve built Madison Tax Group to be the most robust platform designed specifically for self-employed people like you to get the tax credits you deserve. 

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Here’s how the platform works, plus a few tips for how to get your FFCRA refund ASAP.

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Part 1 - The Things You’ll Need

Madison Tax Group does much of the heavy lifting for you, including pulling your tax records directly from the IRS, but we’ll still need a few pieces of info from you:

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The Dates You Want To Apply For 

The FFCRA allows for up to 20 days of paid sick leave and up to 110 days of paid leave for any time you had to take care of a child or loved one. There are a few specifics the IRS requires in terms of childcare-related dates:

1. You can claim up to 50 days between April 1, 2020 - March 31, 2021
2. You can claim up to 60 days between April 1, 2021 - September 30, 2021

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You can claim specific dates (“3/31/2021”) and spans of time (“4/1/2021 - 4/6/2021”) but cannot use the same date twice.

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Can’t remember the dates you had to take off? Here are a few ideas for how to find them:

1. Check your calendar - Any appointments you had with your doctor that were related to COVID?
2. Check emails - Many daycares sent parents and guardians updated info on closures. 
3. Check your social media - were there times you posted on your personal or professional page that you were dealing with COVID-related issues?
4. Check government websites and social - Many have records of their past posts or press releases that discuss lockdown procedures and dates.
5. Check your payment processor - If there are payment methods (Venmo, Paypal, Stripe, etc), you typically use that have a gap in your normal routine, that could be a sign you had to temporarily close shop.

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Your ID + Your Phone

Once you have your dates squared away, we’ll need to verify it’s really you filing for the FFCRA. To do this, we’ll need two things:

1. A selfie taken with your phone - We’ll do this via the Portal as there are a few specific angles our software uses. Your selfie will be taken live; we can’t use old pics (sorry!)
2. Your government-issued ID - Drivers licenses, state IDs, and passports are all accepted as long as they’re current. Unfortunately, we can’t accept expired IDs. 
3. Your Social Security number - This is required by the IRS. Please note - your data is safe with us! We use the highest levels of encryption possible to protect your identity and data.

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Your Current Mailing Address

We’ll pull this from your ID, but you need to make sure we’ve got it right since that’s the address the IRS will use to send your refund. If your ID doesn’t have the correct address, you can manually correct this in Madison Tax Group.

Your Tax Records

We’ll pull this data directly from the IRS, so don’t worry if you don’t have it handy. Still, it’s a good idea to cross-check the information we find and make sure everything is right. 

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Part 2 - The Process

Here’s how it works in Madison Tax Group:

First, we’ll determine your eligibility and calculate your estimated refund. Just a heads up: This is only an estimate; we’ll nail down the real amount further in the process.

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If you qualify, then it’s time to set up your account! This will be a unique account that will house all of your data and records so you can start and stop the application process as much as you like. 

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Next, we’ll get into the nitty gritty and start filling out the FFCRA application. This is where you’ll enter dates and where we pull your past Schedule SE forms. We’ll then automatically calculate your daily rate and start to crunch the numbers to see how much your refund will be. 

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TIP - You can always save your work and come back later!

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Then comes your ID and selfie verification, where we’ll make sure it’s really you. We’ll also verify that all of your information is correct (like your address, so the IRS knows where to mail your check).

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From there, we’ll get to the payment details section. This is where you’ll choose how you want to pay your fees for using Madison Tax Group. All applicants can pay via debit card, credit card, or ACH transfer. Some applicants will have the option to pay your processing fees automatically from your refund, but this depends on your eligibility (we’ll suss out the details in the platform, don’t worry!).

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Once you’ve ensured everything is accurate and ready to go, we’ll need a few signatures from you. Specifically, you’ll sign:

• IRS Form 8821 which authorizes Madison Tax Group to amend your tax returns (this is what the FFCRA does)
• IRS Form 1040x which amends your 2020 and 2021 tax returns, depending on your qualifying dates.
• IRS Form 8879 which allows us to send your FFCRA electronically instead of a paper copy.
• FFCRA Attestation which is your official statement to the IRS explaining why you qualify for FFCRA relief. Most of this will already be pre-filled, but you’ll need to enter a few details about the names of the people you cared for, names of your healthcare providers, and names of the schools/daycares that were closed because of COVID
• Our Agreement which reiterates that you’re giving us the authority to amend and submit your tax docs to the IRS. It also covers the processing fee structure you’ve selected and gets into the nitty gritty about our liabilities, representations, warranties, and all that other legal stuff.

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TIP - You’ll have the ability to access and download all these docs at any time! Simply log in to the portal and pick up where you left off. 

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That’s it! Now you can submit your application and send it over to the IRS. We’ll track the status automatically in the Madison Tax Group platform and will let you know any updates we get as it moves through the system. 

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Now let’s get started! Click here to take the first step; it only takes 3 minutes and will calculate your estimated refund. You could get up to $32,220 back!

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