The Internal Revenue Service said Thursday a review of 1 million claims for the Employee Retention Credit representing $86 billion shows the “vast majority” are at risk of being improper.
The ERC was designed to help businesses retain employees during pandemic-era shutdowns, but it quickly became a magnet for fraud. Its complex eligibility rules allowed scammers to target small businesses, offering help applying for the ERC for a fee — even if they didn’t qualify.
