The window for filing ERC claims has since closed — the final deadline, for 2021 quarters, passed on April 15, 2025. ICS does not take on new ERC engagements.
The IRS has publicly issued several warnings on the aggressive promotion of the Employee Retention Credits (ERC), even making it onto their 2023 Dirty Dozen list of tax scams. Many ERC promotions can be based on misleading information related to eligibility and credit calculations. Radio and internet ads promising guaranteed credits should be scrutinized. “… there are promoters misleading people and businesses into thinking they can claim these credits. People should remember the IRS is actively auditing and conducting criminal investigations related to these false claims. We urge honest taxpayers not to be caught up in these schemes,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel.
The ERC was made available during the COVID-19 pandemic to encourage businesses to retain workers by offering a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes equal to a certain percentage of the qualified wages (including allocable qualified health expenses) that an eligible employer paid to employees after March 12, 2020, and before October 1, 2021 (before January 1, 2022, for recovery start-up businesses).
Employers for both for-profit and tax-exempt organizations are eligible if they experience either:
- A full or partial suspension of business operations due to COVID-19 pandemic governmental orders.
- A significant decline in gross revenue, as defined by a 50% revenue decline in 2020 or a 20% decline in 2021 when compared to 2019.
The window for filing ERC claims has since closed: the last deadline, for 2021 quarters, passed on April 15, 2025.