On September 26, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced it is opening its employee retention tax credit (ERTC) corrections program to allow tax professionals, payroll companies and other third parties that filed ERTC claims on behalf of a business to make corrections to their clients’ claims under the agency’s voluntary disclosure program.

The deadline for amended ERTC claims—whether by an individual employer or by a third party acting on behalf of an individual employer—is November 22. Under the voluntary disclosure program, amended claims would get a discount of 15 percent on repayment if a claim already paid is determined to have been larger than the law allows.

Both this new “supplemental claim process” and the process open to company claimants themselves are available for ERTC claims filed on or before January 31, 2024.

 Prospects: NAIFA members who used a third party to claim the ERTC for any quarter during 2020 or 2021 can discuss with that third party provider whether there may be any errors that need correcting, especially in light of increased IRS scrutiny of the complex rules attached to an ERTC claim. If warranted, the third party can now contact the IRS through the voluntary disclosure program to correct a pending claim, or to repay a claim already paid that may have been paid in error (and on which the IRS says it will seek repayment).

NAIFA Staff Contact: Jayne Fitzgerald – Director – Government Relations, at jfitzgerald@naifa.org.