The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is a fully refundable tax credit, created by the CARES Act.
The tax credit offsets all withheld federal employment taxes including federal income tax withholding, Employer FICA and Medicare.
Excess credit is refunded or advanced by the IRS. This program is not an "income tax credit" and is not related to your annual business tax returns. It is most frequently received as a cash payment from the IRS.