TAX CONTROVERSY 360

The Employee Retention Credit: IRS’s “Risking” Model Faces Legal Challenge

by Shawn O’Brien, Samuel F. Hamer and Michael J. Scarduzio | Apr 24, 2025 | Court Procedure Matters, IRS Appeals, Trial Courts

Case: ERC Today LLC et al. v. John McInelly et al., No. 2:24-cv-03178 (D. Ariz.)

In an April 2025 order, the US District Court for the District of Arizona denied a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by two tax preparation firms. The firms sought to halt the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) use of an automated “risk assessment model” that the IRS used to evaluate and disallow claims for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), seeking to restore individualized review of ERC claims.

BACKGROUND ON THE ERC

The ERC was enacted in 2020 as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide financial relief to businesses affected by COVID-19 by incentivizing employers to retain employees and rehire displaced workers. The ERC allowed employers that experienced significant disruptions due to government orders or a substantial decline in gross receipts to claim a tax credit equal to a percentage of qualified wages paid to employees. Millions of employers have filed amended employment tax returns (Form 941-X) claiming the credit for periods in 2020 and 2021. Since the enactment of the CARES Act, the IRS has issued roughly $250 billion in ERC.

THE IRS’S MORATORIUM AND AUTOMATED RISK ASSESSMENT MODEL

In September 2023, the IRS instituted a moratorium on processing ERC claims to review its procedures, reduce the backlog of claims, and identify potential fraud. Before the moratorium, all ERC claims received individualized review. During the moratorium, the IRS developed an automated “risk assessment model” to facilitate the processing of claims. This model, which is alternatively known as “risking,” utilizes taxpayer-submitted data and publicly available information to predict the likelihood that a taxpayer’s claim is valid or invalid. Claims deemed to be “high risk” by the system are excluded from review by an IRS employee and instead are designated for immediate disallowance. In August 2024, the IRS lifted its ERC processing moratorium and began issuing thousands of disallowance notices to taxpayers. Notwithstanding these actions, the number of pending ERC claims remained above one million as of November 2024.

THE COURT CHALLENGE TO THE IRS’S “RISKING” MODEL

In their motion for a preliminary injunction, filed January 7, 2025, the plaintiffs (the tax preparation firms) sought a court order compelling the IRS to, among other things, stop the use of “risking” and restore individualized employee review of ERC claims. The plaintiffs claimed to be injured by the “risking” model because they were unable to collect contingency fees from clients when claims were disallowed.

In support of their motion, the plaintiffs pointed to having received on behalf of their clients many boilerplate rejections immediately following the end of the moratorium. The plaintiffs alleged that these summary disallowances were arbitrary and capricious, thus violating the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), because the “risking” model precluded the IRS from acquiring information necessary to properly evaluate the claims.[1] The plaintiffs also contended that the disallowances reflected a shift in IRS policy to disfavor ERC, with the result being that several legitimate claims were being [...]

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The Employee Retention Credit: How to Litigate and Resolve Claims

by Shawn O’Brien, Michael J. Scarduzio and Samuel F. Hamer | Apr 10, 2025 | IRS Appeals

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) was designed to help employers keep their employees on payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic by offering a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes. Despite the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issuing more than $242 billion in ERC as of early 2025, the processing and payment of these claims have faced significant delays and scrutiny.

In a recent Bloomberg Tax article, McDermott’s tax controversy and litigation team shared a broad overview of the stages of ERC claims and potential ways in which taxpayers can resolve them. Key takeaways include:

ERC claims can be in one of four stages: no IRS action, IRS examination, formal disallowance, or IRS recapture. Understanding the implications of each stage can be crucial for maximizing taxpayers’ chances of receiving and keeping ERC.
Thousands of ERC claims remain stagnated in the IRS’s administrative review process. Litigation can be a powerful tool to expedite the payment of ERC claims.
Taxpayers must be highly vigilant about the applicable statutes of limitations concerning ERC refund claims. Not understanding these deadlines can undermine the potential for a successful ERC claim.
The IRS is capable of recapturing ERC that it believes was erroneously allowed. However, the mechanisms for recapture may be susceptible to legal challenge, and taxpayers should be aware of their litigation options.

Read the full article.

IRS Roundup March 15 – March 28, 2025

by Evan Walters, Samuel F. Hamer, Edward L. Froelich, Michael J. Scarduzio, Matthew J. Blaney and Parisa M. Griess | Apr 7, 2025 | IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Transfer Pricing Resource

Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for March 15, 2025 – March 28, 2025.

IRS GUIDANCE

March 17, 2025: The IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2025-8, providing the April 2025 short-, mid-, and long-term applicable federal rates for purposes of Internal Revenue Code Section 1274(d), as well as other provisions.

March 21, 2025: The IRS released Announcement 2025-8, which displays a copy of the competent authority arrangement entered into by the United States and Switzerland under paragraph 3 of Article 25 of the Convention Between the United States of America and the Swiss Confederation for the Avoidance of Double Taxation. The agreement details US and Swiss pension and retirement arrangements, including individual retirement savings plans that may be eligible for benefits.

March 21, 2025: The IRS issued Private Letter Ruling 202512002, concluding that a trust was properly classified as a “liquidating trust” for federal tax purposes, despite several extensions of the trust’s term. Pursuant to Revenue Procedure 94-45, a trust instrument must contain a fixed or determinable termination date, which is usually not more than five years from the date of the trust’s creation. However, Revenue Procedure 94-45 also provides that, if warranted by the facts and circumstances, a trust’s term may be extended for a finite time, subject to the approval of the bankruptcy court with jurisdiction over the case.

The IRS also released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandums, and Chief Counsel Advice).

TRANSFER PRICING

March 27, 2025: The IRS released its annual report on advance pricing agreements (APAs) for 2024 as part of its Advance Pricing and Mutual Agreement Program. The report summarized key APA trends and statistics, including the number of applications filed, pending APAs, and executed APAs. The report also details APA trends and statistics executed by country and by industry and provides a breakdown of the types of transactions covered by APAs, the transfer pricing methods used, and other APA characteristics from 2024.

Upcoming Webinar: Navigating IRS Tax Refunds

by Shawn O’Brien, Susan E. Ryba and Samuel F. Hamer | Mar 31, 2025 | Tax Refunds

On April 9, 2025, join McDermott’s Tax Controversy & Litigation Group for an insightful webinar on the intricacies of claiming and collecting Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax refunds. This session is designed for tax professionals, legal practitioners, and anyone interested in understanding the complexities of the IRS refund claims process and what to watch out for.

What You Will Learn:

Step-by-step guidance on filing IRS refund claims
Key legal considerations, insights, and traps surrounding refund claims
Strategies for effectively collecting refunds from the IRS
When and how to litigate refund claims

Click here for details and to register.

IRS Roundup February 17 – March 14, 2025

by Evan Walters, Samuel F. Hamer, Edward L. Froelich and Michael J. Scarduzio | Mar 14, 2025 | IRS Guidance

Check out our summary of recent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance for February 17, 2025 – March 14, 2025.

Editors’ note: With the change in presidential administrations, the IRS has undergone significant transition in recent weeks and issued significantly less guidance than normal. We did not publish the IRS Roundup regularly during these weeks as we awaited new guidance from the agency.

February 19, 2025: The IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2025-6, providing the March 2025 short-, mid-, and long-term applicable federal rates for purposes of Section 1274(d) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code), as well as other provisions.

February 21, 2025: The IRS issued Notice 2025-15, providing guidance on the alternative method for furnishing health insurance coverage statements to individuals, as required by Code Sections 6055 and 6056. This alternative method allows entities to post a clear and conspicuous notice on their websites, informing individuals that they can request a copy of their health coverage statement. This notice must be posted by the due date for furnishing the statements and retained through October 15, 2026. The guidance applies to statements for calendar years after 2023.

March 5, 2025: The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2025-17, providing guidance for individuals who failed to meet the eligibility requirements of Code Section 911(d)(1) (foreign earned income exclusion) for 2024 because of adverse conditions in certain foreign countries. The revenue procedure lists specific countries, including Ukraine, Iraq, Haiti, and Bangladesh, where war, civil unrest, or similar conditions precluded normal business conduct. Individuals who left these countries on or after specified dates in 2024 may still qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion if they can demonstrate that they would have met the eligibility requirements but for these adverse conditions.

March 5, 2025: The IRS issued Notice 2025-16, providing adjustments to the limitation on housing expenses for 2025 under Code Section 911. These adjustments account for geographic differences in housing costs relative to those in the United States. The notice includes a detailed table listing the adjusted housing expense limitations for locations worldwide. It also allows taxpayers to apply the 2025 adjusted limitations to their 2024 taxable year if the new limits are higher.

March 6, 2025: The IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2025-7, providing interest rates for tax overpayments and underpayments for the second quarter of 2025 in accordance with Code Section 6621.

March 11, 2025: The IRS issued Notice 2025-17, providing updates on the corporate bond monthly yield curve, spot segment rates, and 24-month average segment rates used under Code Sections 417(e)(3) and 430(h)(2). The notice includes the interest rate on 30-year Treasury securities and the 30-year Treasury weighted average rate for plan years beginning before 2008. It also specifies the minimum funding requirements for single-employer plans, the methodology for determining monthly corporate bond yield curves, and the adjusted 24-month average segment rates for March 2025. Additionally, the notice outlines the permissible range of rates for calculating current liability for multiemployer plans.