On March 7, 2023, the IRS issued a warning to Employee Retention Credit claims. False claims generate compliance risk for people and businesses claiming improper credits. According to the warning, "The IRS and tax professionals continue to see third parties aggressively promoting these ERC schemes on radio and online."

Businesses should be cautious of advertised schemes and direct solicitations promising tax savings that are too good to be true. Taxpayers are always responsible for the information reported on their tax returns. Improperly claiming the ERC could result in taxpayers being required to repay the credit along with penalties and interest.

Businesses are required to issue Forms 1099, generally on or before January 31st relating to payments made during the preceding year. The IRS uses Forms 1099 to track income that isn’t recorded in a person’s wages or salaries, which are reported on Form W-2.

Taxpayers can check the status of their tax refunds by going to https://www.irs.gov/refunds. You can start checking the refund status within 24 hours after an e-filed return is received by the IRS.

The Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”) is a credit that was effective in 2020 to assist businesses in keeping employees on payroll. The ERC has been extended for all of 2021 and has been significantly expanded. Even if your business did not lose revenues in 2020 compared to 2019, you still could qualify given the many eligibility factors.

As a result of the American Rescue Plan Act, taxpayers who received unemployment benefits in 2020 with modified adjusted gross income of less than $150,000 don’t have to pay tax on the first $10,200 in unemployment compensation.

Individual taxpayers do not need to file any forms or call the IRS to qualify for the automatic change in the tax filing date. Of course, taxpayers needing additional time can file for an extension, giving them until October 15, 2021 to file their return.

Small businesses that experienced a loss of revenue from 2019 to 2020 may be eligible for a second round SBA-PPP (“Paycheck Protection Program”) loan. You may also be eligible if you were not operational during 2019 or a portion of 2020.

Millions of Americans are now receiving taxable unemployment compensation and received unemployment compensation in 2020. Many of these individuals are receiving these benefits for the first time.