By Christopher M. Ferguson
CCH Journal of Tax Practice & Procedure
Fall 2023, Volume 25, Issue 3
Over the past three and a half years, countless businesses have availed themselves of the Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”), a tax credit intended to incentivize businesses to retain employees during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The IRS estimates that over $150 billion in ERC claims have been paid to businesses. The IRS is of the view that a substantial portion of the ERC claims paid to date are improper, either because they are inflated, illegitimate, or outright fraudulent. And the IRS intends to get this money back.
The IRS has pledged to aggressively audit both taxpayers who file questionable ERC claims and the ERC providers that have been promoting what it maintains are dubious ERC claims. Audits have already begun.
In this article, Kostelanetz LLP partner Christopher Ferguson and WithumSmith + Brown, PC partner Daniel Mayo team up to discuss what to expect from the coming wave of ERC audits and investigations and propose strategies for navigating these often tricky proceedings.
Click here for the full article.
Published with permission from CCH.
