IRS’s Top Problem Is Unpaid COVID Relief for 1 Million Businesses: Report

The pandemic program was supposed to be a ‘lifeline’ for small businesses but has been a source of frustration, according to a government watchdog.

The IRS building in Washington on Jan. 9, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The IRS’s handling of a COVID-era tax credit ranks as the agency’s most serious problem, hurting “countless eligible businesses,” a government watchdog says.

Missteps have plagued the Employee Retention Credit program, a report from Erin Collins, the national taxpayer advocate, said. The tax credit compensates employers who kept people on their payrolls despite negative effects from pandemic mandates during 2020–21.