COVID-19 news and information

Congress authorized the employee retention credit, which ends April 15, to help businesses suffering in the throes of COVID-19. The arrival of promoters and ERC mills brought headaches for the IRS.

National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins told the AICPA & CIMA National Tax Conference that the number of unprocessed employee retention credit claims will grow before the final filing deadline in April.

Commissioner Danny Werfel says the IRS has made “substantial progress” in separating eligible claims from ineligible ones.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration estimated that a change in policy for pre-refund examinations resulted in payment of $2 billion in erroneous employee retention credit claims.