What's really going on with the ERC processing right now?

I'm at my wits' end trying to figure out what's happening with the ERC situation currently. My small business desperately needs the cash, but every time I call the IRS, I get nowhere. We submitted our ERC claim back in September 2023, and all we've gotten is one lousy letter about 4 months ago saying they need more time to process it. Nothing since then, complete radio silence. It's been over 9 months of waiting with zero updates! Has anyone else been stuck in this ERC limbo for almost a year? Is something wrong with our claim, or is this just how slow the IRS is moving with these? I'm starting to get really worried because we made business decisions counting on this money coming through...

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22 comments

Caesar Grant

•8M

The ERC processing delays are unfortunately very common right now. The IRS has been completely overwhelmed with claims, especially after they discovered widespread fraud in the program. In late 2023, they announced a moratorium on processing new claims, but they're still working through the backlog of previously submitted ones like yours. Here's what's happening: legitimate claims are taking 9-12 months minimum to process, with many going beyond that timeframe. The letter requesting more time is actually a good sign - it means your claim is in the system and hasn't been rejected outright. The IRS is manually reviewing almost all ERC claims now, which dramatically slows down processing.

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Caesar Grant

•8M

Unfortunately, there's no dedicated portal to check ERC claim status like there is for regular tax refunds. Calling the general IRS number typically won't yield much information as the frontline representatives don't have access to the detailed status of ERC claims. As for speeding up the process, your best option might be contacting your local Taxpayer Advocate Service. They can sometimes help if you're experiencing a financial hardship while waiting for your claim. You could also try reaching out to your congressional representative's office, as they sometimes have channels to make inquiries with the IRS on behalf of constituents.

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Lena Schultz

•8M

After spending weeks trying to get updates on my ERC claim, I finally found a solution that worked. I was in the exact same situation - filed in August 2023, got one letter, then nothing for months. I discovered a service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me understand exactly what was happening with my claim and what to expect. You upload your documents and they analyze everything, then give you a detailed assessment of your claim status, potential issues, and estimated timeline based on current IRS processing patterns. The system spotted a minor issue with our original filing that likely caused the delay - something our accountant missed completely.

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Lena Schultz

•8M

The service doesn't directly access your IRS account - it analyzes your submitted documents and compares them against current IRS processing patterns. They have AI that checks for common flags and issues that typically cause delays. In my case, they identified inconsistencies between our quarterly payroll reports and the amounts claimed on our ERC forms. For your second question, they didn't speed up the processing directly, but they did help me correct the issue by submitting additional documentation to the IRS. Their timeline estimate was pretty accurate - they projected I'd receive my credit 3-4 months after addressing the issue, and it took about 3.5 months from that point.

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Pedro Sawyer

•8M

Just wanted to follow up here. I decided to try taxr.ai after my earlier questions and I'm really impressed! The analysis found that my ERC claim had a high risk of audit because of how we calculated our qualified wages. They explained exactly which documentation I needed to have ready if questioned and gave me specific guidance on addressing potential IRS concerns. Best part was they predicted I'd likely see movement in "2-4 weeks based on current processing patterns" - and exactly 17 days later I got an update letter from the IRS! The detailed breakdown of how they're processing claims from different filing periods was super helpful for setting realistic expectations. Definitely worth it for the peace of mind alone.

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Mae Bennett

•8M

For anyone struggling to get actual humans at the IRS on the phone about their ERC claim, I found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that literally changed everything for me. I was on hold for HOURS before giving up multiple times. They have this system that navigates the IRS phone tree and holds your place in line, then calls you when an actual agent is ready to talk. Check out how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c After trying for weeks to get through on my own, I had an IRS agent on the line within 45 minutes using their service. The agent was able to tell me my claim was actually assigned to a specific department for review (something I couldn't get anyone to tell me before). Apparently, certain industries are getting flagged for additional verification, which explained my delay.

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Mae Bennett

•8M

Yes, it's basically a service that waits on hold for you. You call their system, enter the IRS number you want to reach, and their technology essentially holds your place in line. When they reach a human agent, you get a call back and are connected immediately. It's definitely something that shouldn't be necessary, but with IRS wait times regularly exceeding 2-3 hours these days, it's worth it for many people. I understand your skepticism. They don't have any special access to the IRS - they're just using technology to navigate the phone system and hold your place in line. Think of it like those services that help you get hard-to-get restaurant reservations. The difference is that instead of you sitting on hold for hours, their system does it for you.

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Gemma Andrews

•8M

Alright, I need to apologize and follow up about Claimyr. I was really skeptical as you could tell from my comment, but after trying for TWO WEEKS to reach someone at the IRS about my ERC claim (getting disconnected four times after 1+ hour holds), I broke down and tried it. Holy crap, it actually works exactly as described. I got a call back with an IRS agent on the line in about 30 minutes. The agent pulled up my claim and told me it was flagged for review because my business is in the construction industry, which they're scrutinizing more heavily. They even gave me an estimated timeline of 8 more weeks for processing. I've been stressing for months with no information, and in one phone call I finally understand what's happening. Wish I hadn't been so dismissive before.

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Dallas Villalobos

•8M

I'm a CPA who's handled about 30 ERC claims. They're definitely not mass-rejecting, but they are scrutinizing claims MUCH more carefully now. The most common issues I'm seeing with rejections: 1) Documentation wasn't sufficient to prove the impact of government orders on your business 2) Revenue reduction calculations were done incorrectly 3) The qualified wages were calculated improperly, especially for owner-employees 4) The business claimed for quarters where they were also using PPP funds for payroll What specific reason did they give in the rejection letter?

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Melina Haruko

•8M

Thanks for the insights! The rejection letter wasn't super specific, just mentioned that we "did not experience a full or partial suspension of operations due to governmental orders" which is bizarre because we literally had to close our retail location for 3 months in 2020 due to local health department orders. We had included copies of the county health orders and documentation showing our closure periods, but maybe it wasn't clear enough? Our accountant is preparing an appeal but says it could take another 6+ months to resolve. This whole process is beyond frustrating.

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Caleb Bell

•5M

I'm going through the exact same thing as you, Philip. Filed our ERC claim in October 2023 and we're now at 6 months with just one generic "processing delay" letter. What's really frustrating is that our business is in a tough spot financially and we were counting on this money to help with cash flow. From what I've been reading and hearing from other business owners, the IRS is being extremely cautious with ERC claims now because of all the fraud that happened. They're manually reviewing almost everything, which is why legitimate claims like ours are taking so long. I've heard some people are waiting 12+ months now. I know it doesn't help much, but you're definitely not alone in this. The uncertainty is the worst part - not knowing if there's an issue with your claim or if it's just stuck in the massive backlog. Hang in there, and hopefully we'll both see some movement soon.

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Amara Nnamani

•1M

Thanks for sharing your experience, Caleb. It's both comforting and frustrating to know so many of us are in the same boat. I'm at 9+ months now and the financial strain is really starting to show. Have you tried any of the services mentioned in this thread? I'm torn between feeling like they might be helpful versus wondering if they're just taking advantage of desperate business owners. The waiting game is killing me, but I also don't want to throw more money at something that might not actually help speed things up. I keep telling myself that the fact we got that one letter means our claims are legitimate and in the system, but the complete silence since then makes me second-guess everything. Really hoping we both hear something positive soon!

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Victoria Brown

•18d

I'm in a very similar situation and completely understand your frustration. We filed our ERC claim in August 2023 and are now at 8 months with virtually no communication from the IRS beyond that initial acknowledgment letter. What I've learned from talking to other business owners and our CPA is that the IRS is essentially treating every ERC claim like a potential audit case now. They're manually reviewing documentation, cross-referencing with PPP loans, and being extremely thorough because of all the fraudulent claims that flooded the system. The good news is that if you received that letter saying they need more time, it typically means your claim passed the initial fraud screening and is being reviewed by an actual person rather than being automatically rejected. The bad news is that this manual review process is what's causing these massive delays. I know it's incredibly stressful when you're counting on that money for business operations. We're in the same boat - made decisions based on expecting this credit and now we're scrambling with cash flow. But from everything I've heard, legitimate claims are eventually getting processed, it's just taking much longer than anyone anticipated. Hang in there!

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