IRS ERC Claims Process

The COVID-era employee retention credit (ERC) officially ended on April 15, 2025. Still, many business owners claim they had legitimate ERC claims that have yet to be processed. By way of background, the IRS temporarily paused processing of ERC claims process due to a significant number of fraudulent claims. While the IRS now continues to review ERC claims and pay out legitimate claims, they have also identified several key warning signs that it will be watching for when reviewing employee retention credit claims. At one point, the IRS stated that somewhere between 10% and 20% of all claims had significant red flags. The slower pace, according to the IRS, is necessary because of the complexity of these claims. Even for low-risk claims, the IRS will conduct an additional review to ensure the taxpayer’s calculations were correct. Incorrect calculations will be adjusted before payments are sent out.

We asked two professors and authors of ALM’s Tax Facts with opposing political viewpoints to share their opinions about whether the IRS has properly handled the ERC claims process.

Below is a summary of the debate that ensued between the two professors.