Boston Growth Partners Supports IRS Efforts to Guard Against Dubious Players

The ERTC has helped thousands of small businesses and nonprofits impacted by COVID-19. That’s the good news. The bad news is that there are some nefarious players out there using unethical and questionable practices on ERTC applications. In fact, the IRS even acknowledged this, saying the agency is entering a new phase of “increasing scrutiny on dubious submissions” and warning consumers against “aggressive marketing.”

These practices are creating many challenges for small businesses and nonprofits who actually qualify for the credit by clogging up the system with false claims. This robs the IRS of the resources it needs to help the deserving organizations. In this recent notice, the IRS calls out some red flags to look for when considering an ERTC partner, such as ads mentioning an “easy application process,” statements that say the company can determine ERTC eligibility “within minutes,” or promises that an organization qualifies before understanding its tax situation. It also says to beware of organizations using aggressive marketing including fake letters or those leaving out key details. 

According to the IRS, organizations can protect themselves by working with a trusted tax professional, such as the ones we have at Boston Growth Partners, and requesting a detailed worksheet explaining ERTC eligibility and computations used to determine the ERTC amount, which is already part of our overall process.

It’s really unfortunate that so many unethical players are making it harder for worthy organizations to claim the employee retention credit. We believe in transparency and have laid out our process for you step by step. We encourage you to take a look and ask us any questions you have. We believe in the power this credit can provide to our small businesses and the positive impact this can have on their local economy, employees, and partners.