On Friday, January 1, 2021, the Senate voted to override President Trump’s veto of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (“2021 NDAA”) by a vote of 81 -13. The Senate’s override follows the House of Representatives’ override on December 28, 2020, and the 2021 NDAA is now law. As we reported on December 23, 2020, … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, both houses of Congress passed the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (“2021 NDAA”). Included in Title LXIV of the 2021 NDAA (Title 64 for those of us rusty on Roman numerals), are new information reporting requirements intended to identify individual beneficial owners of certain business entities. Subject to a number of exceptions, … Continue Reading
After months of gridlock, the House and Senate, on December 21, both passed another round of COVID relief legislation (H.R. 133). The 5,593-page bill, which gained momentum following the introduction of bipartisan compromise legislation, provides an enhanced employee retention credit (“ERC”), which is easier for employers to qualify during the first six months of 2021, … Continue Reading
Without notice or fanfare, the New York Department of Taxation updated guidance on its website to address the application of its “convenience of the employer” rule to COVID-19 telecommuters. The question of whether New York would consider employees who are working remotely due to the pandemic as doing so for “convenience” or “necessity,” has been … Continue Reading
The IRS recently announced that it erroneously sent failure-to-deposit (“FTD”) penalty notices to certain employers that reduced their employment tax deposits on Form 941 (Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return) in anticipation of claiming sick and family leave credits under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) or the employee retention credit (“ERC”) under the Coronavirus, … Continue Reading
Is an individual service provider an employee or an independent contractor? As our employee benefits colleagues have noted previously in Covington’s Inside Compensation blog, the IRS test is complicated and just one of many for determining worker status under federal and state laws. The American Workers, Families, and Employers Assistance Act (the “Bill”), one of … Continue Reading
On July 27, Senate Republicans released a series of COVID-19 relief bills, including the “American Workers, Families, and Employers Assistance Act” (the “Bill”). The Bill is a successor to several provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, passed in March of this year, which attempted to blunt the early effects of the … Continue Reading
As we noted in an earlier post, on July 27, Senate Republicans introduced new legislation in response to the continued COVID-19 pandemic. One of the introduced bills, titled the American Workers, Families, and Employers Assistance Act (the “Bill”), would enhance the existing employee retention credit.… Continue Reading
On July 27, 2020, the IRS published Information Release 2020-169 announcing the issuance of new temporary and proposed regulations to implement procedures to assess, reconcile, and recapture any portion of the credits under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) erroneously credited, paid, or … Continue Reading
On July 27, Senate Republicans introduced a series of bills intended as their opening salvo in what appears likely to be contentious negotiations among Senate Republicans, the White House, and House and Senate Democrats over the next legislative response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with another round of direct stimulus payments to individual taxpayers, extended … Continue Reading
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) authorizes the Treasury Department to provide payments to passenger air carriers, cargo air carriers, and certain contractors that must be exclusively used for the continuation of payment of employee wages, salaries, and benefits. The Payroll Support to Air Carriers and Contractors Program provides a total … Continue Reading
Holding true to its holiday tradition, the IRS yet again decided to extend the deadline by which providers of minimum essential coverage (including certain applicable large employers (“ALEs”)) must furnish information statements to individuals regarding their 2019 insurance coverage. However, due to the effective elimination of the ACA’s individual mandate penalty through the Tax Cuts … Continue Reading
Treasury Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy David Kautter attended the AICPA National Tax Conference on November 13, 2019, and commented that significant TCJA-related guidance should be expected to be released before the end of 2019. Such guidance is likely to include proposed regulations addressing (1) federal income tax withholding under section 3402, (2) the executive … Continue Reading
In our first post on the proposed regulation under section 1446(f), we discussed which party is the withholding agent and outlined the various exceptions to withholding that could apply. Sections 864(c)(8) and 1446(f) were adopted as part of tax reform. Section 864(c)(8) was enacted to reverse the holding of the Tax Court in Grecian Magnesite Mining v. Commissioner, which … Continue Reading
This post is the first of three installments providing an overview of recent proposed regulations under section 1446(f) that address withholding on certain sales of partnership interests by foreign partners of a partnerships engaged in the conduct of a U.S. trade or business (a “U.S. trade or business”). Sections 864(c)(8) and 1446(f) were adopted as part … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the IRS released final regulations that aim to prevent identity theft by permitting, but not requiring, employers to truncate the taxpayer identification numbers (TINs) on copies of Forms W-2 and Forms W-2c furnished to employees. The regulations finalize proposed rules issued in 2017. Generally, this rule applies to Forms W-2 required to be filed or … Continue Reading
On April 10, 2019, Reps. John B. Larson (D-CT) and Kenny Marchant (R-TX) introduced the Invest in America Act (H.R. 2210), which would repeal section 897, added by the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980 (“FIRPTA”), and the corresponding Chapter 3 withholding provision under section 1445.… Continue Reading
On February 14, 2019, Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) introduced bill S. 503 “to provide the opportunity for responsible health savings to all American families.” The bill would increase the annual maximum amount that can be contributed to health flexible spending accounts (“FSAs”) as well as permit unused benefits to carry forward by amending section 125(i) … Continue Reading
On March 7, 2019, Senator John Thune (R-SD) reintroduced legislation aimed at simplifying worker classification and requiring additional wage reporting under certain circumstances. Senator Thune introduced the New Economy Works to Guarantee Independence and Growth Act (the “New GIG Act”) for the first time in 2017. It was included in the chairman’s mark of the … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the full House passed its tax reform proposal, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1), on a party-line vote, 227-205. In addition to the headline changes to the corporate and individual tax systems, the bill would make numerous changes to various fringe benefit exclusions, employer deductions for fringe benefits and executive compensation, cross-border … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the House Ways and Means Committee released the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) (the “Bill”), a bill that, if enacted, would represent the most substantial overhaul of the U.S. tax code in decades. Section 3307 of the Bill makes several changes to the deduction limitations under section 274 related to meals and … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the House Ways and Means Committee released the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) (the “Bill”), a bill that, if enacted, would represent the most substantial overhaul of the U.S. tax code in decades. We are releasing a series of posts to highlight the provisions of the Bill affecting the topics pertinent to our readers, … Continue Reading
The IRS today released Notice 2017-09 providing guidance on the de minimis safe harbor for errors in amounts reported on information returns. The safe harbor was added to Sections 6721 and 6722 by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (PATH Act). Under the statute, filers are not subject to penalties under either … Continue Reading
As college graduates struggle under the weight of larger student loan burdens, some employers have begun to offer student loan repayment benefits intended to help employees repay their loans. In May, House Ways and Means Committee member Robert Dold (R-IL) introduced legislation that would, among other changes, amend Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code … Continue Reading
