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Bradley Burnett: ERC Trap Threatens Thousands of Taxpayers

Bradley Burnett

While cases stall, the right to sue could expire.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Thousands of business taxpayers still battling Employee Retention Credit disallowances could lose their right to sue the IRS in 2026 because the two-year refund-suit deadline keeps running while cases sit in IRS examination or Appeals, a risk tax attorney Bradley Burnett calls part of a “colossal mess” of statute traps, litigation risks and unresolved audits.

The National Taxpayer Advocate estimates roughly 28,000 taxpayers may be affected, prompting the IRS to roll out a special Form 907 extension process for certain ERC claimants approaching the deadline.

CPE WEBINAR

Covid ERC in 2026: Picking Up the Pieces: Which Are Ticking Time Bombs?

With Bradley Burnett, J.D., LL.M.

Thursday, June 18, 1-4 p.m. ET

Register | Learn more

“What is left … a colossal mess,” Burnett tells CPA Trendlines Academy attendees. “Some of those broken pieces out there may be time bombs.”

The filing window has closed. The refund fights have not.

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CHARTS & GRAPHS

57% Say PE Threatens the CPA Brand. But They’ll Take the Money.

CPA PE Deal Tracker™: 13 firms rolled up in May. 92 so far this year.

Most CPAs are concerned that private equity is undermining the CPA profession’s reputation for independence and objectivity. Only 10% say PE will have little or no impact. Fewer still can say PE will improve client service. (CPA Trendlines)

 

By CPA Trendlines

It’s a toss-up between CPAs opposed to PE and those unopposed. (CPA Trendlines)

As the CPA Trendlines CPA PE Deal Tracker™ adds 13 more closings for the month of May, a new survey shows accountants worrying about PE tarnishing the image and reputation of the profession. But half say they might take the money anyway.

MORE Private Equity | MORE All 466 Deals for the Last 10 Years

Nearly half of the professionals surveyed— 49.5 percent — describe themselves as decidedly opposed to private equity investment: fiercely independent, not interested, never ever.

The rest, a bare but discernible majority, are not. They would do a deal for the right price. Or they are already in play. Or have already done a deal.

“It only makes sense to keep our options open,” says Michael Royer of Royer Advisors and Accountants in Falmouth, Maine. He is not opposed, and he is not sold, adding “it’s still a personal business — and we don’t know the full impact of AI.”

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CHARTS & GRAPHS

CPA PE Deal Tracker™: 10 Years, 466 Deals

Deal Log, Analysis & Leaderboards – Monthly through May 2026

Where the Deals Are: Top Ten U.S. States

California leads with 47 deals over the last 10 years, followed by New York with 43, and Texas with 31. (CPA Trendlines)

By CPA Trendlines Research

Private equity is buying accounting firms faster than the profession can name the buyers.

MORE CPA PE Deal Tracker™: 57% Say PE Threatens the CPA Brand. But They’ll Take the Money.

MORE Private Equity

The CPA Trendlines CPA PE Deal Tracker™ now counts 466 verified deals reaching back to 2016, and the shape of that market is no longer a story about scattered tuck-ins. It is a story about concentration.

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PODCAST

Chase Damiano: Good Operations Means Defining How the Hand-Offs Happen | The Disruptors

When leaders neglect to delegate, chaos reigns.

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The Disrupters
With Liz Farr
For CPA Trendlines

Chase Damiano, founder of Human at Scale, says that operations are the missing piece for many firms. “It’s sort of this bridge or glue that allows a business and a team to function well together,” he says. “I see it as the intersection of people and process and technology and culture.” What that looks like in practice, he said, is a firm where the team is happy, clients are satisfied, work is delivered on time and at high quality, and the owner has the freedom to focus on strategy and growth and has the time to spend on non-work things like family.   

MORE DISRUPTORS: Candy Bellau: The $350 Pricing Mistake that Nearly Broke this Boutique Firm | The Disruptors | Poe: What P.E. Really Wants from Firms | The Disruptors  | Blake Oliver: Build a Biz that Runs Without You | Daiber: Use Succession as a Growth Strategy | Cannon: Busy Season is Self-Inflicted | Carroll: When One Person Can Break the Firm | Rampe: Build a Roadmap Even When the Road’s Not There | Chang: Killing SALY, One Agent at a Time |

MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network

While many consulting firms “might just drop in the deliverables and then leave it up to the team to integrate that on their own,” Human at Scale has a different approach. “We actually embed within the accounting firm, we implement, and we execute alongside of the CEO and their team,” Damiano explains.   READ MORE →