Tax Blog

1.  I filed my ERC refund claim many years ago but have never heard from the IRS, what do I do?

You should start by obtaining your IRS transcript.  The transcript will help you confirm that the IRS received your claim, and whether you might have missed correspondence from the IRS about it.  Once you have confirmed that the IRS has your claim but has taken no action, you can contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service or your Congressman to facilitate pushing your claim forward. The Taxpayer Advocate Service is an independent organization within the IRS that assigns advocates to Taxpayers.

2.  The IRS ...

Members of our Tax Controversy & Litigation practice filed comments last week on the proposed regulations published July 2, 2024, regarding the Employee Retention Credits. They argued that these proposed regulations exceed the IRS and Treasury authority. They also urged these bodies to abandon the current proposed regulations as they relate to the ERC, and to reconsider the appropriateness of the final regulations treating excessive ERC refunds as underpayments of tax, particularly in light of the Supreme Court's recent decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. 

Read ...

IRS ERC ANNOUNCEMENT (IR-2024-169, June 20, 2024) - Following a lengthy review of numerous Employee Retention Credit ("ERC") claims, the IRS has announced plans to deny tens of thousands of “improper high-risk ERC claims” (about 10-20% of total ERCs) while starting a new round of processing lower-risk claims to help eligible taxpayers. During the review period, the IRS processed 28,000 claims worth $2.2 billion and disallowed more than 14,000 claims worth more than $1 billion. Various estimates of total ERC claims have exceeded $240 billion.

The IRS' review involved months ...

Background:

Millions of Employee Retention Credit (ERC) claims have been filed with the IRS as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with millions of taxpayers already receiving their refunds and others still waiting to receive refund checks. The IRS audits and Appeals work has commenced with a fury at a dizzying pace. While many appropriate ERC claims have been filed, the IRS has seen a number of erroneous claims as well. On December 21st, the IRS launched a new initiative to address the issue of erroneous ERC claims. The Voluntary Disclosure Program, part of a broader IRS effort to ...

Recently, the IRS has been devoting substantial resources to its investigation of Malta Pension Plans.  Just this month, the IRS Criminal Investigation division served summonses on multiple entities and persons who it believes were involved with such plans, and has proposed making the transaction a “listed” transaction.  Either action would be noteworthy, but that combined activity tells a story of deep IRS scrutiny.  This article discusses that activity, and provides some high-level options for affected taxpayers.

The Latest Listed Transaction: the Maltese Pension

On June ...