Buyer Beware: The IRS warns businesses about taking shortcuts with the IRS, and here’s how we can help.

People are smart.  We feel that clients have a right to know what they get when they are ready to explore the complex ERTC which may result in up to $26,000 per employee for eligible small businesses. 

In the early days of the pandemic the ERTC was permitted to be filed electronically.  Unfortunately, in the haste of the rollout, the controls were low.  This enabled misinformed people or hackers the ability to compromise the payroll system over the internet.  No backup, review or substantiating documentation was received by the IRS.  As a result, checks were possibly refunded to some “make-believe” companies.   

Thankfully, since then the IRS has put in place processes that prohibit e-filing (everything is in paper and reviewed by humans) and there is now a large claims review process.  What’s more, they have provided guidance, examples and have notified tax practitioners how to perform the complex eligibility process and qualified wage calculations.

Clients need to make sure the service provider they select has the customer service, supply chain expertise, government orders, analysts, researchers, CPA review and SOC II compliant data storage necessary to meet the high bar the IRS has set to claim the credit.