Plastic Film, LLC v. United States (S.D. Miss. Jan. 20, 2026)
'Although the Complaint does not identify a specific governmental order, there is no statutory, regulatory, or binding precedent requiring such specificity at the pleading stage. Whether the referenced orders ultimately substantiate Plaintiff's eligibility for the credit presents a fact-intensive issue appropriately addressed through discovery or at summary judgment.' (ECF 18 at 8) ECF 18: motion to dismiss granted in part (APA counts); the Q3 2020 refund claim survives; ECF 45: plaintiff's motion for judgment on the pleadings against the United States' erroneous-refund counterclaim not granted, without prejudice; leave to amend the counterclaim
Gravenstein 116, LLC v. United States (Fed. Cl. Jan. 30, 2026)
Section 280E's anti-trafficking bar 'squarely applies to the Employee Retention Credit, including the refundable portion of the credit' (at 2). Dismissal under I.R.C. 280E
GAO report GAO-26-107456, 'COVID-19 Relief: IRS Can Use Lessons Learned to Address and Prevent Improper Payments in Future Tax Programs.'
GAO report GAO-26-107456, 'COVID-19 Relief: IRS Can Use Lessons Learned to Address and Prevent Improper Payments in Future Tax Programs.' Authoritative totals: nearly 5 million claims processed, ~$283 billion paid; GAO describes the credit's purpose neutrally; notes IRS never produced a required improper-payment estimate. GAO-26-107456 published.
TAS FY2026 Objectives Report, Objective 6 (updated Aug. 4, 2026)
TAS FY2026 Objectives Report, Objective 6 (updated Aug. 4, 2026): IRS revises target to complete initial review of all ERC claims by Dec. 31, 2026. Shows IRS's own timetable for resolving remaining claims slipped a full year.
JPM Restaurant, LLC v. United States (E.D. Tenn. Feb. 27, 2026)
As recited in NEHS at 17, Sundancer at 5-6, Tapestry at 10 and Region IV at 9: 'due to' requires 'both factual and proximate causation--meaning that the order must have been the but-for cause and a foreseeable cause of the full or partial shutdown'; labor-shortage causal chain 'too attenuated'. Summary judgment; on appeal
Bloomberg Tax reports expected surge of ERC refund suits as the two-year sec. 6532 deadlines from the summer-2024 letters approach
Bloomberg Tax reports expected surge of ERC refund suits as the two-year sec. 6532 deadlines from the summer-2024 letters approach; Appeals lost over a quarter of its workforce; NTA urges IRS to sign Form 907 extensions. Documents Appeals bottleneck forcing taxpayers into court.
Ninth Circuit, ERC Today, LLC v. McInelly, No. 25-2642 (D. Ariz. No. 2:24-cv-03178-SMM), argued and submitted Mar. 4, 2026 (Phoenix)
Ninth Circuit, ERC Today, LLC v. McInelly, No. 25-2642 (D. Ariz. No. 2:24-cv-03178-SMM), argued and submitted Mar. 4, 2026 (Phoenix); unpublished memorandum affirms the district court's refusal of a preliminary injunction against the IRS 'Disallowance During Processing' program for lack of Article III standing; remanded with note that plaintiffs could seek leave to amend. This is a different Ninth Circuit appeal from No. 25-4217 (Notice 2021-20 APA challenge); a separate matter. Panel: Hawkins, Bybee, Friedland. Appellants (ERC Today and [the plaintiff]) 'offer no evidence that they are making less money' as a result of the program; loss-of-process theory not accepted (mem. at 2-4). Affirmance of the refusal of a preliminary injunction against the 'Disallowance During Processing' program for want of Article III standing
Juggler Dave and Friends, LLC v. United States (Fed. Cl. Mar. 25, 2026)
Retroactive Jan. 31, 2024 filing bar for section 3134 credits satisfies due process; Q1-Q2 2021 credits had been paid (at 1-2, 9). Motion to dismiss the Q3 2021 claim granted under Pub. L. 119-21 sec. 70605(d)
NTA blog (updated May 1, 2026): IRS adopts streamlined process (Notice CP320B / Form 907) to extend the two-year period to file suit on ERC claims…
NTA blog (updated May 1, 2026): IRS adopts streamlined process (Notice CP320B / Form 907) to extend the two-year period to file suit on ERC claims awaiting Appeals; Appeals resolution averaged 337 days. IRS acknowledgment that administrative delay alone could extinguish valid refund claims. Notice CP320B / Form 907 streamlined extension process (NTA blog; IRS CP320B page); Letter 105-C and 106-C pages updated the same day.
Northeast Health Services, LLC v. United States, No. 24-2096T (Fed. Cl.): summary judgment for the government
Northeast Health Services, LLC v. United States, No. 24-2096T (Fed. Cl.): summary judgment for the government; Massachusetts mental-health provider exempted from cited orders; court requires proximate (not but-for) causation for 'due to' a governmental order. Contrary authority on causation decided the same day as Tri-State. DPH guidance promulgated under compulsory authority qualifies as an 'order' (at 12 & n.21); 'due to' requires that a qualifying order be 'both the factual and proximate cause of a full or partial suspension' (at 13-17; *11); a but-for reading 'would broaden the suspension-of-business prong such that employers could virtually always rely on it' (at 17); the parties' factual disputes on suspension were reasonable (n.24). Cross-motions; United States' dispositive cross-motion granted (Massachusetts Order Nos. 13 and 33; DPH guidance)
Tri-State Memorial Hospital v. United States, No. 2:25-CV-0181-TOR (E.D. Wash.) (Rice, J.), ECF No. 38, order on the United States' motion to dismiss
Tri-State Memorial Hospital v. United States, No. 2:25-CV-0181-TOR (E.D. Wash.) (Rice, J.), ECF No. 38, order on the United States' motion to dismiss: hospital's $11.5 million ERC refund claim for Q1-Q3 2021 survives; court applies Loper Bright/Skidmore, adopts plain-meaning definition of 'partial suspension,' refuses the Government's 'significant' gloss, and holds Notice 2021-20's 10% test is a method of satisfying the more-than-nominal standard, not a requirement. Leading taxpayer-favorable district court ruling on partial suspension; directly refuses the IRS litigating position that 'more than nominal' means 'significant' and that the 10% threshold is mandatory; holds 'due to' requires but-for causation. Partial suspension = temporary delay, interruption or termination of a portion of the business (at 9-10); 'more than nominal' is not 'significant' (at 10-11); title does not narrow suspension to closure (at 12); 10 percent is 'a method for the test to be met not as a requirement' (at 16); 'due to' = 'because of' = but-for (at 17-19); COVID-versus-orders argument fails (at 20-21). Motion to dismiss refused (Q1-Q3 2021 refund suit; Washington Proclamation 20-24.2)
Accounting Today reports ERC disputes moving to court; IRS official said ~41,000 cases under exam or appeal as of January 2026
Accounting Today reports ERC disputes moving to court; IRS official said ~41,000 cases under exam or appeal as of January 2026; practitioners report IRS paying few remaining claims and issuing 'pattern' Letters 105C. Practitioner evidence of boilerplate letters.
IRS posts the monthly ERC inventory page (GAO Recommendation 3 closed)
IRS posts the monthly ERC inventory page (GAO Recommendation 3 closed).
First Source Employee Management, Inc. v. United States, No. 1:24-cv-02209-CEF (N.D. Ohio)
First Source Employee Management, Inc. v. United States, No. 1:24-cv-02209-CEF (N.D. Ohio): APA counts seeking to enjoin/vacate Notice 2021-20 dismissed for lack of standing/jurisdiction; $20.2 million refund count under sec. 7422 proceeds. Court reasons that ERC entitlement flows from the CARES Act, not the Notice -- useful for arguing the Notice cannot narrow the statute. The refund action under 26 U.S.C. 7422 'provides complete relief' (at 8); an injunction or vacatur of Notice 2021-20 would not redress the PEO's injury (redressability at 9-12; conclusion at 15) -- i.e., (at 8, 10, 15). Counts two through four (APA) dismissed; refund count proceeds
Plastic Film, LLC v. United States, No. 5:25-cv-30-DCB-LGI (S.D. Miss.)
Plastic Film, LLC v. United States, No. 5:25-cv-30-DCB-LGI (S.D. Miss.): the United States is permitted to recover allegedly erroneous ERC refunds by civil suit under 26 U.S.C. sec. 7405, not limited to sec. 6205 administrative procedures. Shows government is also litigating offensively to claw back paid ERC refunds.
Sundancer Pools, Inc. v. United States (Fed. Cl. June 23, 2026)
Judgment on the pleadings deferred; leave to amend (California and San Diego County orders; Q2-Q3 2021)
Tapestry Senior Housing Management, LLC v. United States (D. Minn. June 25, 2026)
The complaint 'vaguely gestures toward governmental orders from Ohio and Pennsylvania. But it does not identify them with any specificity' (at 10); if the orders are not named they 'must [be] describe[d]... with more specificity' (at 11); follows JPM Restaurant's factual-and-proximate-cause formulation (at 10). Complaint dismissed without prejudice under Rule 12(b)(6)
Key Meetings, Inc. v. United States, No. 25-cv-06520-WHO (N.D. Cal.) (Orrick, J.)
Key Meetings, Inc. v. United States, No. 25-cv-06520-WHO (N.D. Cal.) (Orrick, J.): Fifth Amendment challenge to sec. 70605(d)'s retroactive Jan. 31, 2024 cutoff fails; Q3 2021 claim dismissed. Juggler Dave & Friends, LLC v. United States, 181 Fed. Cl. 52 (2026) (Hertling, J.) reaches same result. Retroactive cutoff for late-filed Q3/Q4 2021 claims has so far survived constitutional challenge. Sec. 70605(d) is constitutional as applied; the United States moved only against the section 3134 quarter (at 1-4, 9). Motion to dismiss Count Three (Q3 2021) granted under sec. 70605(d); Q1-Q2 2021 counts proceed
Region IV Mental Health Services v. United States (N.D. Miss. July 1, 2026)
Refuses the United States' JPM-based argument that a plaintiff 'must plead specific government orders were the but for cause of the business suspension for each specific tax quarter'; 'Region IV is not required to plead with specificity the government orders that caused its alleged suspensions at this stage' (at 9-10); a complaint identifying 'at least 55 alleged government orders' is not a shotgun pleading (at 9). Motion to dismiss granted only as to the declaratory-judgment request on the Q2 2021 recapture; the Rule 12(b)(6) motion fails
South Delta Planning & Development District v. United States (N.D. Miss. July 15, 2026)
'As to the United States' claim that, to sufficiently plead an ERC refund claim, the complaint must pinpoint a specific order that proximately caused the alleged partial shutdown, that claim was recently rejected by the Southern District of Mississippi.' (at 7, following Plastic Film and Region IV) Rule 12(b)(1) motion granted in part only; Rule 12(b)(6) motion fails; stay lifted
I Health and Life Insurance Services v. United States (Fed. Cl. July 23, 2026)
The California orders are governmental orders (at 2-3); plaintiff must allege that a qualifying order 'factually and proximately caused it to temporarily cease performing a distinct portion of its business' (at 17, quoting Sundancer); occupancy caps and worker-exclusion rules adequately pleaded as orders but the cessation of a discrete portion was not (at 14, 17). Ruling on RCFC 12(c) motion deferred pending amendment (California EOs N-25-20, N-33-20, N-60-20; county orders; Q3 2020 and later)
IRS ERC webpage status update (week ending Aug. 29, 2026): ~14,900 ERC claims remain, broken down by stage
IRS ERC webpage status update (week ending Aug. 29, 2026): ~14,900 ERC claims remain, broken down by stage; IRS states it updates the page monthly. Most current official inventory figure; shows remaining claims are overwhelmingly in audit, letter-response or Appeals posture. Inventory as of the week ending August 29, 2026: about 14,900 claims (under review 1,650; 'pending payment or disallowance' 2,950; under audit 3,600; 'awaiting review of disallowance responses' 5,300; Appeals 1,400); page last reviewed September 8, 2026; read live September 27, 2026.
County of Barry (dba Thornapple Manor) v. United States (W.D. Mich. Sept. 4, 2026)
United States' statements: 'The statute does not define order, partial suspension, or the causation requirement. The parties in this case disagree about all three of these parts of the ERC.' (at 3); the case 'is one of four ERC cases being litigated by the same counsel'; cross-motions for summary judgment pending in Marquette County Medical Care Facility v. United States, No. 2:25-cv-135 (W.D. Mich.) (at 4); JSmith Civil appeal pending, No. 5:25-cv-513 (E.D.N.C.) (at 2). United States' motion to stay pending the Sixth Circuit's decision in JPM