Employee Retention Credit – Audits and Credit Companies

The IRS has an aggressive plan for the audit of the Employee Retention Credit claims in an effort to target unscrupulous credit companies encouraging businesses to take aggressive or fraudulent positions regarding the credit. 

In the event of an audit, here are some of the questions that the IRS auditors will ask ERC claimants to substantiate:        

1.     What method of qualification did the entity use?

a.     Proof that the entity qualified under the applicable test:

                          i. For revenue qualification: calculation showing qualification and backup financial information showing revenue;

                                      ii. For partial suspension qualification: documentation of governmental restriction that impacted the entity and proof of the impact of the shutdown on your operations, was the entity deemed essential, etc.

2.     For what dates did the entity qualify and why?

a.  Revenue test qualifies for a full quarter but the partial suspension ties to dates that the regulations were in place.

3.     How many employees did the entity have during that period?

4.   Can you provide documentation of the credit calculation to ensure that only eligible amounts were credited?

5.     Can you provide copies of all original signed filings related to any PPP funds received?

We recommend that all of our clients who did not use our office to determine eligibility for the credit look at the backup under the above list to ensure that they are prepared for any future audit.  If you have questions about the credit, your eligibility, or if you have used a credit company and you would like us to help sure-up your company’s position prior to any audit please reach out to our office.

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Tools & Resources

Internal Revenue Service

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Internal Revenue Service Payments

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Mass Dept. of Revenue

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Mass Tax Connect

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