Employee Retention Tax Credit

Congressional Casework Guide

NAPEO’s Congressional Casework Guide is designed to help you engage your elected representatives to resolve issues with federal agencies. From delayed IRS responses and unresolved claims to regulatory and administrative roadblocks, congressional offices can often play an important role in helping businesses navigate federal bureaucracy and obtain needed answers.

View the full guide here and see below for a summary of key instructions for using the templates during the congressional casework process.

ERTC Case Information Template  

Use this form before contacting your congressional office to ensure you are prepared to provide complete information. You can fill out the form directly in the PDF. 

Message Template: Request for Congressional Casework Assistance  

You can use (or modify as needed) this template to submit your request through your U.S. House or Senate office’s website. 

Instructions:  

1. Download the template document using this link. 
2. Open the downloaded Word document. 
3. Click “Enable Editing” to begin filling in the document. 

Additionally, here is an example of what a Privacy Act Release Form looks like, but each congressional office has its own version.  

IRS ERTC PROCESSING UPDATE (as of June 2026)

• Current Processing Status: Approximately 490 periods remain outstanding across 20 EINs. This is down from 843 periods and 83 EINs at the time of our last call. The IRS reported that it is receiving a significant volume of Schedule R filings, which is helping them move quicker. IRS officials indicated their goal is to have most of the remaining cases designated for examination or processing by the end of June.
• New Advance Examination Notification Letters: The IRS plans to begin sending advance notification letters to employers who have been selected for examination but who have not yet been sent a formal notice of exam. The IRS believes these advance notices will help streamline examinations and improve communication with affected taxpayers. These letters will notify employers that they have been placed in the examination queue, identify information that will be requested once the examination begins and include an IRS phone number and point of contact for general questions.
• Partial Resolution (“Bifurcation”) of Claims: NAPEO asked the IRS to clarify reports that portions of a Form 941-X that includes ERTC claims (and other adjustments, as applicable) may be processed while other portions remain under examination. The IRS confirmed the following. Cases are bifurcated at the closing of an examination, and not prior to or during the examination process. “Agreed” issues are automatically separated and processed for payment (or other disposition, as applicable). This includes claims on the 941-X that were not selected for examination. Remaining disputed periods continue through the examination closure or appeals process. No separate request from a PEO is required for this process to occur at exam closing. The treatment applies across all EINs included within the aggregate filing. NOTE: In explaining this system, the IRS referenced IRM Section 4.23.10.15 on “partially agreed cases.”
• Issue Under Review: Erroneous 105C Letters: The IRS acknowledged that some third-party payers received Letter 105C, a formal claim disallowance notice, in situations where a straight disallowance was not intended. This may have occurred when the IRS did not recognize that a claim was filed by a third-party payer. IRS officials acknowledged the issue and stated that these letters were not sent as intended. The agency is currently reviewing the matter with counsel and asked stakeholders for approximately 30 days while it develops a resolution and additional guidance. Please let NAPEO know if you received an erroneous 105C letter.

What is NAPEO Doing

More ERTC Guidance

ERTC Background

The ERTC was created by the CARES Act in March 2020. It was extended and modified by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Here’s how that law modified the ERTC.

The ERTC was modified again in March 2021 by the American Rescue Plan Act, which, among other changes, added the ERTC to the Internal Revenue Code (§ 3134) and extended it to Q3 and Q4 2021. As noted above, The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which was signed into law on November 15, 2021, retroactively terminated the ERTC one quarter early for most employers so that the ERTC is generally not available with respect to wages paid on or after October 1, 2021. Employers that meet the definition of “recovery startup business” in Code § 3134, as amended by the IIJA, continue to be eligible to claim the ERTC for wages paid through December 31, 2021.

Employers that are no longer eligible for the ERTC in Q4 2021 but that (1) received an advance payment of the ERTC for Q4 using Form 7200 and/or (2) reduced their payroll tax deposits earlier in Q4 in anticipation of claiming the ERTC for Q4 should review the guidance in Notice 2021-65 (see link above) for information regarding repayment of those amounts.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58) contains a provision that ends the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) at the end of the third quarter of 2021. Most employers should not claim any ERTC on the Form 941 for Q4 2021, with one exception for a “recovery startup business.” Employers that meet that definition could still claim the ERTC for Q4 2021 (if otherwise eligible).

Employers may continue to claim the ERTC for Q1-Q3 2021 if they are eligible.