Despite a moratorium since September on processing new claims for the pandemic-era employee retention credit (ERC), the IRS still averages 20,000 new applications weekly, Commissioner Danny Werfel told the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday, April 16.
Werfel's comments came as the committee chairman questioned him about the ERC and whether a tax bill — passed by the House in January and now stalled in the Senate — would help the IRS fight fraud in the program.
The top line items of the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 include a retroactive bar on additional ERC claims as of Jan. 31, 2024. The deadline under current law is April 15, 2025.
"There's two things being harmed if that bill doesn't get passed," Werfel told the committee. "One, the financial bottom line of the U.S. government because you're giving us tools to crack down on fraud. And two, in our big inventory of claims, there are still eligible claims in the midst, but they're very hard to find.” Read more.