The Internal Revenue Service has issued a new warning this week urging employers to proceed with caution before pursuing Employee Retention Credit tax claims.
That is likely to add to the hesitancy that some experts say CFOs already have when it comes to reviewing whether their firm is legitimately eligible to be refunded up to $26,000 in payroll taxes for each employee that remained on the company’s payroll in the early days of the pandemic shutdowns.
“I have a lot of CFOs who start out with, ‘I really don’t believe we qualify,’” said Howard Makler, founder of Miami-based Innovation Refunds, which helps employers determine whether they are eligible as well as to apply for the COVID-19-related tax refunds. He advises them to be cautious but to not self-disqualify before they’ve discussed it with professionals.
