Internal Revenue Service - US Coronavirus Refundable Credits
Program level Payment Integrity results
Sponsoring agency: Department of the Treasury
View on Federal Program InventoryPROGRAM METRICS
Did not report
in FY 2025
Payment Integrity results
Additional information
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) US Coronavirus Refundable Credits was determined to be susceptible to significant improper payments for the fiscal year (FY) 2021 Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Circular A-123, Appendix C assessment period. In August 2022 Treasury determined that due to the short-term nature of the COVID-19 pandemic relief programs, quantifying the amount and rate of improper payments, assessing the root cause, and developing corrective action plans to reduce payment errors in the future would provide minimal value and be an ineffective use of resources. Therefore, for its COVID-19 pandemic relief programs Treasury decided it would not report an improper payment estimate in its Agency Financial Report or on paymentaccuracy.gov. These COVID-19 pandemic relief programs are on the three-year improper payment risk assessment rotation. In FY 24, the IRS completed a detailed analysis of more than one million claims related to the Employee Retention Credit, which was the most significant component of the US Coronavirus Refundable Credit fund expenditures and enhanced its filters for detecting invalid claims. Through this process, the IRS has imposed more than 32,000 penalties totaling over $162 million, denied improper claims, and continued to alert taxpayers to scams through public communication and targeted outreach