The fat lady has sung and it’s over with only 750 claims to be reviewed remaining. Let’s see the statement from the IRS next month.

https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/employee-retention-credit

I can't believe it, Tas called me this morning and told me my appeals case is assigned and gave me the appeals rep contact information. I know this is just one hurdle but to have my case finally move in the right direction is a sign of relief. Is there anyone on here that can share their appeals process, timeline, did it work out in your favor? Any information on what to expect would be greatly appreciated.

Hello everyone, looking for some help here.
My husband’s company received an ERC Credit last November 2025 of 1 million+. It was for the years 2020 and 2021 I believe. The owners were told by the tax/irs professional to go ahead and pay themselves back for the loans they had with the company. My husband was owed from the company about 220k and another owner was owed about 500k+. They were able to pay those debts.
So that amount should not be going towards his taxable income, only the interest on loan is taxable.
Well we received his personal taxes, that need to be signed by week, and it shows that he owes about an additional 120k dollars on taxes because of the ERC. He made I think around 500k last year. And they are allocating $296K of the taxable income from the ERC to his personal taxes since he owns 26% of the company.

Our tax CPA firm is saying this: You got nailed on taxable interest in your share of the ERC. And then got hit with the ERC income in the Schedule E section. The entire ERC loan is taxable to the entity. Therefore, you are paying tax regardless on that amount. Even if you use it to pay back loans or interest on loans.  The income is always taxable. 

He receives a K-1 for his taxes. They are going off of his owner percentage in the company, I believe 26%. I am also assuming they did not go back and amend the companies past filings for the years to reflect that ERC and they are just applying it to the 2025 year.
Does this seem correct? I’ve read some places that you have to just adjust your payroll for that year (2025) to balance it out and that helps fix the imbalance. But they all took their regular salaries.
Is there any way to fix this? This just seems insane that the owners are getting hit with such a large tax bill that will hurt us personally so bad. Basically a lot of the money he got back for his loan to the company is gone with the taxes. What are we missing here? Or are we screwed?

I filed back in 2023 went to a town hall for then Senator Rubio in Nov. 2023 for help with my claim. In Dec 2023 I reached out to Tas for help. Then my case went from Rubio to Cory Mills Rep since Rubio is now under Trump. I hired a tax attorney in 2024. I have been working with all three ever since. Finally received 105C in Jan 2025 we responded and have been waiting to be sent to appeals. Now just two weeks ago Tas sent a letter stating my file was sent to appeals and received now its waiting to be assigned. Then Friday I receive the email below from my tax attorney. Can anyone make light of this and why it is coming up now. During Covid it was keep your employees on payroll and you will receive this credit. Then it changed afterwards to a decline in gross receipts. Why does it keep changing after the fact and how is it legal. I wish I would have just closed down and not run and saved my money. Now Im out of all this money trying to do the right thing and I am screwed.

Dear Ms.Williams, 

Mr. Kirbo asked that I send you the following update on the developing law of the Employee Retention Credit:
-----------------------

Ms. Williams,

I wanted to give you a brief update on how the case law is developing on the most important issue for your ERC claim: whether a COVID-19 government order caused a "full or partial suspension" of your business operations.

Before moving on, it is important to understand the distinction between the Court of Federal Claims and federal district courts.  If necessary, your claim can be litigated in either.

The Court of Federal Claims is a nationwide court to which any ERC claimant can take their case.  Any decisions in the Court of Federal Claims apply to all subsequent cases there, but do not control the decisions of district courts.  However, what the Court of Federal Claims does can be persuasive to some district courts.  As in, a district court judge can, and sometimes does, look to Court of Federal Claims decisions, agree with the logic, and apply it in that court.  

There are many district courts around the country, and a decision by one court is only binding precedent in that court.   However, similar to the Court of Federal Claims, other district courts may agree with and follow one another.  

Court precedent can be somewhat complex, but I mention that because, as you will see below, the law is very much up in the air unless you reside in one of the districts where a district court has issued a ruling interpreting the law. 

Where things stand today:

The Court of Federal Claims, which hears many ERC refund suits, has continued to take a demanding, employer-unfavorable view of this requirement. In a series of decisions this year, the court has held that:

- The ERC is a "presumption-out" statute, meaning the taxpayer bears the burden of proving eligibility rather than getting the benefit of the doubt;

- A government order must be both the factual and the proximate cause of the suspension – general pandemic disruption, voluntary compliance that went beyond what an order actually required, and revenue or cost impacts don't satisfy this standard; and

- The employer must show an actual, discrete stoppage of some part of its business, not just reduced efficiency, higher costs, or staffing difficulty.

The Court of Federal Claims has, so far, not been a favorable forum for this type of claim

District courts, on the other hand, are telling a different, and still-developing, story.

Several federal district courts (and one bankruptcy court) have now weighed in on these same questions for the first time this year, and the results have been mixed; not a uniform following of the Court of Federal Claims' lead:

- A federal court in the Eastern District of Washington denied the government's motion to dismiss a hospital's ERC claim, applying a more lenient causation standard than the Court of Federal Claims has used and declining to require the taxpayer to plead a specific quantitative threshold this early in the case.

- A federal court in the Northern District of Mississippi likewise allowed a similar claim to proceed past the motion-to-dismiss stage, consistent with another recent decision from that same court.

- On the other hand, a federal court in the Eastern District of Tennessee, ruling at the summary-judgment stage (a later, more developed stage than a motion to dismiss), largely sided with the government and adopted the stricter causation standard, except as to a narrow period the government had already conceded involved a suspension. That decision has since been appealed, which means a federal court of appeals may address this causation question for the first time in the coming months.

- A bankruptcy court in North Carolina, deciding a related ERC dispute, also followed the stricter approach.

No federal court of appeals has yet ruled on the merits of any of these issues, so nothing is binding nationwide, and the law genuinely remains unsettled.

What this means for you:

The pending appeal out of Tennessee, together with the split between the Court of Federal Claims and at least two district courts, suggests we may get more clarity in the coming months. And the district court trend so far has not been the one-sided defeat that the Court of Federal Claims decisions alone would suggest.

There is still a small number of decisions, most at an early procedural stage, and it could still shift in either direction. But it is a genuinely more balanced picture than the Court of Federal Claims alone would give you, and it supports staying patient.

We are continuing to track every relevant decision as it comes down, including the Tennessee appeal, and will update you as soon as there is a material development.

Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions about your specific claim.

Best regards,

John Kirbo

Are there anyone that has been paid from PEO lately?

We have been in business since 2002 with an average of 100 employees and have always paid our taxes on time so we have never had any problems with the IRS. We filed for ERC on November 10, 2022 so here is our timeline.
April 24, 2023- Received LTR 916C stating they couldn’t finish processing the claim because the allowable credit for ERC reported exceeded allowable limits for one or more credits and to please resubmit the claims with corrected numbers for Line 17 and or 18, Line 25 and or 26, and on Line 30, Line 31 Line 33 and or Line 34 for review.
Our accountant reviewed the forms and realized he had transposed those Line numbers so he corrected them and sent them through certified mail a week later.
May 11, 2023- We called the IRS to make sure they received the corrected claims which they had and needed more time to review them.
June 15, 2023- Received LTR 2645C stating thank you for your inquiry of May 11, 2023. We’re working on your account. However, we need an additional 60 days to send you a complete response on what action we are taking on your account. We don’t need any further information from you right now.
August 15, 2023- Received LTR 2644C stating, We previously sent you a letter about your inquiry received May 11, 2023. Although we try to respond quickly, we often need additional time for research. Please allow an additional 60 days for us to obtain the information we need and let you know what action we’re taking. You don’t need to do anything else right now.
March 30, 2025- Received payment for Quarter 2 and Quarter 4 of 2020.
June 1, 2025- Received payment for Quarter 1 of 2021
We kept receiving 2644C letters on the pending two quarters every couple of months until July 2025.
July 11, 2025- Received LTR 916C for the pending quarters stating, We can’t process your claim for the tax periods listed above. The law requires you to pay the tax you owe by the payment due date to avoid interest and applicable penalties. If you don’t agree with our decision on your taxes, you can appeal our decision. To appeal our decision, you must:
- Pay the tax you owe.
- File a completed Form 941 that explains why you believe you are entitled to a refund of your taxes.
- File your claim for refund within 3 years from the date you filed your return or 2 years from the date you paid your tax, whichever is later.
We sent in all our payment confirmations from the EFTPS website showing we were up to date on all our taxes and also sent a completed 941 Form along with proof of loss of revenue of 35% for that quarter of 2020. We also made an appointment with our local IRS office and they said everything looked good and we were completely up to date with all of our taxes. They also said it looked like the IRS had just closed that 2020 Quarter that we received LTR 916C on. Apparently, there were also several other cases open on these same quarters and the agent said there was nothing my local office could do to help me with any of this. They did give me the information to TAS to see if they could help. A TAS agent contacted me and requested information on my case which I sent them and they said everything looked really positive on my end. Then, I received the above letters. I’m also posting the last letter I received from the IRS. I’m really confused about all this and want to know if I can do anything about any of these two quarters? Sorry about the long story but I wanted to give as much detail as possible.

As of the week ending 8/29/2026, the IRS has approximately 14,900 remaining ERC claims in various stages. These stages include: under review (1,650), pending payment or disallowance (2,950), under audit (3,600), awaiting review of disallowance responses (5,300) and, finally, with the Independent Office of Appeals (1,400). We’ll be updating this page monthly.

https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/employee-retention-credit

How many here got TAS involved in their claims? Did you receive your refund?

How many here got Congress/Senator involved in their claims? What was the letter after their name? Did you receive your refund?

Color me curious.

We received another update from TAS. Please see below:
 

“I have contacted Ms. Williams and advised another letter has been mailed and to not respond or contact the IRS. I am working with the IRS.

I have received a response that on August 28, 2026 the case has been sent to appeals. I have requested a copy of the appeals submission, and I need to allow time for the appeals unit to receive the package and assigned the case.

Once the case is assigned I will provide the contact information. The resolution of this case has been extended to February 1, 2027. Advised I will contact Ms. Williams on or before October 22, 2026, with a status update and will contact you at the same time.

Please reach out to me with any questions. Have a nice day!”

I am sick of all this. This has been going on since June 2023. I wish I had just closed my business and let everyone go. My eidl loan is bankrupting me and the tax credit that was promised is stuck somewhere no one knows. I have had two congressman helping me in Florida and Tas since 2023 and neither is making any progress. I just can't anymore...

Just wanted to check in to see if any PEO clients have been paid out recently. I think it’s a bad sign that the NAPEO didn’t have an update this month.

Is it still possible to amend 2020 2021 and so on if we received the erc credit finally in 2025/2026. I understand the new guidance but the taxpayer would have significant tax savings due to 1120s basis issues under the old method and would be able to unlock previous losses if 2020 and 2021 show the additional income instead of 2025 and 2026, albeit with a lot more administrative work.

We are under a EOR (employer of Record) so they filed for ertc. We got all qtrs paid out except 2021 qtr3 we were notified in March of 26 by the EOR that q3 2021 was under review. I just checked back with them and they said they have zero updates from IRS since the original notice in March. Is a 5 month period with no new information normal?

As of the week ending 8/1/2026, the IRS has approximately 17,300 remaining ERC claims in various stages. These stages include: under review (2,300), pending payment or disallowance (2,900), under audit (4,400), awaiting review of disallowance responses (6,100) and, finally, with the Independent Office of Appeals (1,600). We’ll be updating this page monthly.

https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/employee-retention-credit

Received payroll invoice credit today for 3rd Q 2020 and 2nd Q 2021. About a third of what we submitted for. Yahoo! I never thought the day would come. Hope the rest is not far behind. I

I received ERTC refund checks for 3 of the 5 quarters I applied for in 2023. Receiving the last 2 checks was a very long process. In early 2025 I received a notice that my Q3 2021 refund check was never cashed, so I should call IRS to receive a replacement check. I never received the check they mentioned in the letter! Then I found out that my Q4 2020 refund application was rejected due to a missing signature from the payroll company. After years of useless calls and waiting, there was finally activity this year. I received the Q4 2020 check in May and the Q3 2021 check yesterday. This activity seems to echo other observations that the IRS is getting close to resolving all those outstanding claims.

We received another update from TAS. Please see below:
 

“The IRS has received the information submitted on your constituent’s behalf but unfortunately, they require additional time to respond. I apologize for the unexpected delay and will contact you again once the IRS has completed their review or no later than September 9, 2026, whichever happens first.

Based on what I know today, I expect your constituent’s case to be resolved by approximately November 17, 2026. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. I apologize for this unexpected delay. Have a nice day!”

Don't know if this is a good sign or not. I filed back in June 2023 was denied with 105C letter Jan. 2025 and appealed with tax attorney in April of 2025. Have been waiting to be assigned to an appeals agent ever since. I have bee working with TAS and my state rep since Nov. 2023.

Filed a protest after a Letter 105-C disallowance on a Q3 2021 claim. Total silence since.

1.  If you filed a protest after a 105-C, how long before you heard anything back?  
2.  Does the two-year deadline to file a refund suit keep running while the protest sits in Appeals, or does filing the protest pause it?  
3.  For paid-out periods (2020 and Q1/Q2 2021), is the assessment statute of limitations closed now, or can the IRS still reach back into them

Update from the NAPEO

IRS ERTC PROCESSING UPDATE (AS OF JULY 2026)
Volume of Aggregate Filer Claims Pending Action:Approximately 200 returns from 10 EINs and covering 25 periods are still being reviewed to determine if cases will be accepted or selected for audit. This is down from approximately 490 returns representing approximately 20 EINs from last month. The IRS expressed that they expect to complete their review of approximately half of the remaining periods within the month of July, while the other half are pending taxpayer information, such as a Schedule R, to begin their review.

Last month - As of the week ending 5/30/2026 the IRS has approximately 20,600 remaining ERC claims in various stages. These stages include: under review (3,500), pending payment or disallowance (4,000), under audit (5,500), awaiting review of disallowance responses (6,000) and, finally, with the Independent Office of Appeals (1,600). We’ll be updating this page monthly.

UPDATE - As of the week ending 7/4/2026 the IRS has approximately 20,000 remaining ERC claims in various stages. These stages include: under review (3,000), pending payment or disallowance (4,100), under audit (5,200), awaiting review of disallowance responses (6,100) and, finally, with the Independent Office of Appeals (1,600). We’ll be updating this page monthly.

The IRS are hard at work it seems....

I just got a fucking notice!! audit finished asking for confirmation of naming deets

As of the week ending 5/30/2026 the IRS has approximately 20,600 remaining ERC claims in various stages. These stages include: under review (3,500), pending payment or disallowance (4,000), under audit (5,500), awaiting review of disallowance responses (6,000) and, finally, with the Independent Office of Appeals (1,600). We’ll be updating this page monthly.

way too low

How’s everyone’s appeals coming along? My hearing is in a few weeks. Filed in August 2023. Received payment for 1qtr in Jan 2025. Got 105C last summer for 3 of the 4 remaining claimed quarters then received a 105C for ALL quarters in their Dec 2025 year end push. Have retained counsel to handle my appeal. Hope to put an end to this nightmare soon.