The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) were relief programs intended to help support qualifying businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, both of these programs became targets for fraud; and, as a result, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS CI) is now scrutinizing businesses in Virginia and other states that took advantage of these programs.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced that it is targeting businesses that have improperly claimed the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). It is conducting both audits and criminal investigations focused on uncovering fraud during the 2020 and 2021 tax years.

While most taxpayers in the U.S. are familiar with Form 1040, this is just one of several forms that taxpayers may need to file by Tax Day (which is April 18, 2023). Individual and corporate taxpayers may need to file a variety of other forms as well, and failure to file any required form could lead to unwanted scrutiny from the IRS—along with interest and penalties.

Whether you are a Virginia resident who spends time working abroad or you have accounts or investments offshore, you need to make sure you dutifully meet your obligations to the IRS. Underreporting foreign income and assets can trigger an IRS audit or investigation, and both underreporting and underpayment can lead to steep penalties.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued an update regarding taxpayers’ digital asset reporting requirements for 2023. As the IRS explains, “taxpayers . . . must again answer a digital asset question and report all digital asset-related income when they file their 2022 federal income tax return, as they did for fiscal year 2021. The term ‘digital assets’ has replaced ‘virtual currencies,’ a term used in previous years.”