In a letter sent to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, NAICU once again urged the agency to help expedite backlogged Employee Retention tax Credit (ERC) returns filed by many private, nonprofit colleges and universities.  After hearing from institutions reporting delays of up to a year or more, NAICU contacted the IRS to push for the consideration of these returns.

The ERC was created and extended in pandemic stimulus bills to assist employers who had to suspend services partially or fully or who experienced significant revenue loss as a result of the national emergency.  It was available through the 3rd filing quarter of 2021 and was eliminated for the 4th quarter and beyond as part of the American Rescue Plan.

Evidently, employers across the country are also seeing significant delays in receiving the credit due in large part to the paper-filing requirement of amended returns.  Although, electronic returns are also delayed.

In addition, there are numerous fraudulent advertisements by groups claiming that the ERC is still available and targeting employees with promises of gaining access to funds for a fee.  These filings are also clogging the system and adding processing delays. 

NAICU previously weighed in on these delays with then acting Commissioner Douglas O’Donnell in January, 2023.