The IRS’s “standard end-of-year closeout” means that employers should expect delays in receiving advance payments of credits available under COVID-19 legislation, according to the agency.
The year-end work will slow the IRS’s processing of Form 7200, “Advance Payment of Employer Credits Due to COVID-19,” between late December and mid-January 2021, the IRS said in a December 4 statement.
The IRS created Form 7200 to enable employers to request an advance payment of the tax credits for qualified sick and family leave wages and the employee retention credit available under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (P.L. 116-127) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (P.L. 116-136).
“The IRS will continue to accept and process valid Forms 7200 during this time, and the payment of valid requests during this time will begin to be processed on January 21, 2021,” the agency said. “Employers will still receive Letter 6312, Form 7200 Response, if the Form 7200 cannot be processed.”