Here’s what tax pros recommend after the IRS halts processing for small business tax credit

As the IRS pauses on processing new claims for a pandemic-era small business tax break, some filers are in limbo as the company works on additional steerage.

The IRS on Thursday quickly halted processing for amended payroll tax returns claiming the so-called employee retention tax credit, or ERC, which was enacted throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

Worth hundreds per eligible worker, the IRS stated the program has triggered a flood of “questionable claims,” as a cottage business of specialist companies has popped up and pressured small companies to wrongly declare the tax aid.

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“Businesses that obtain ERC funds improperly face the daunting prospect of paying these again, so we urge the utmost warning,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel stated on Thursday, urging small companies to evaluate claims with a professional tax skilled.

In the meantime, the IRS is engaged on additional steerage on methods to withdraw unprocessed ERC claims, together with a settlement program for small companies who wrongly acquired the credit and need to pay it again.

The IRS has launched an in depth ERC eligibility checklist to help filers. The credit was designed for small companies and tax-exempt organizations that paid staff throughout government-mandated shutdowns or skilled a “vital decline in gross receipts” throughout sure durations in 2020 and 2021.

“My blanket recommendation is at all times to speak to a professional tax skilled who has filed [ERC claims] earlier than,” stated licensed monetary planner Craig Hausz, CEO and managing companion at CMH Advisors in Dallas. He can be a licensed public accountant. 

If you acquired the credit and know you do not qualify, Hausz stated you must begin the strategy of paying the a reimbursement. “I believe the IRS goes to be much more lenient on abating penalties and interest if somebody proactively sends a reimbursement,” he added.