Battles over Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”) claims are turning more serious now, with many audits, administrative appeals, and cases getting underway. Taxpayers hoping to prevail against the IRS or Department of Justice need to have a deep understanding of legislative, substantive, procedural, and strategic ERC issues. Understandably, loads of taxpayers are having trouble keeping up with evolving matters in the ERC world. This article, the latest in a long series, discusses five new items that might have escaped the attention of taxpayers.

Complying with international information-reporting duties is difficult; the rules are complex, dense, and obscure. Things get even more complicated when it comes to people who are residents, for tax purposes, of both the United States and another country. These so-called “dual residents” have special disclosure rules, the violation of which can trigger taxes, penalties, extended assessment periods, and more. This article explores information-reporting obligations, traditional IRS enforcement actions, and recent cases and IRS guidance featuring contradictory rulings involving dual residents.

When people think about tax enforcement, they rarely consider the IRS attacking payroll companies based on benefits they claimed for their clients, but this is happening with the Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”). What makes this more interesting is that the IRS is attacking both payroll companies and their clients thanks to their joint liability in certain situations. This reality sets the stage for primary battles against the IRS, accompanied by secondary clashes between payroll companies and their clients. The finger pointing has already started, and it will no doubt intensify as ERC enforcement escalates. This article analyzes four recent sources of IRS guidance about which parties will be on the hook when ERC claims get disallowed.