IRS vows to race $10 billion in delayed Covid aid to help hurricane-hit businesses
Source: NBC News
Oct. 10, 2024, 5:25 PM EDT
Small-business owners in the Southeast who’ve been waiting for long-delayed pandemic aid are pushing for the money to recover from this fall’s brutal hurricane season. The federal government says more of it is heading their way soon.
Around 400,000 claims worth $10 billion are being processed for eligible business owners who applied for tax refunds under the Covid-era Employee Retention Credit (ERC) program, the IRS said Thursday.
The agency didn’t give a concrete timeline or geographic details about the applicants, but it said Thursday that it’s accelerating work on those claims, and it estimated this summer that at least 1.4 million were still in the queue.
“Our top priority is to quickly help taxpayers affected by the devastation of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton,” IRS spokesperson Mike Martinez told NBC News. He also highlighted recently announced tax relief for those in affected regions, including filing and payment extensions for individuals and businesses. “We understand the urgent need across the federal government to provide financial assistance to small businesses.”
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/irs-vows-race-tk-billion-delayed-covid-aid-hurricane-hit-businesses-rcna174776