CARES Act

On July 30, 2020, the IRS released guidance in the form of new frequently asked questions (“FAQs”)  addressing the deferral of the employer portion of Social Security taxes under section 2302 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act.  These FAQs are broad in nature, providing guidance on various considerations relevant to section 2302 of the CARES Act, including application of these rules to first calendar quarter deposits, coordination with the next-day deposit rule, and considerations for employers that use third parties to report and deposit employment taxes with the Treasury.  Covington continues to review this guidance, and has summarized in this blog post some of the provisions we consider most relevant to employers.

When reviewing this latest guidance from the IRS, employers should be mindful that although they represent the current thinking of the IRS regarding section 2302, these FAQs are  non-binding; the IRS is under no obligation to comply with these FAQs and could therefore take a different approach at any time.  As we have noted previously, the IRS has changed course with respect to FAQs issued in connection with other provisions in the CARES Act, such as the employee retention credit.
Continue Reading IRS Releases Additional FAQs on Deferral of Employment Tax Deposits Under Section 2302 of the CARES Act

On Saturday, August 8, President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the Secretary of the Treasury to “use his authority pursuant to [Code section] 7508A to defer the withholding, deposit, and payment of the tax imposed by [Code section] 3101(a) . . . on wages . . . paid during the period of September 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020,” subject to certain conditions.  (The memo as originally posted on the White House website would have applied retroactively to wages paid August 1, 2020, but was subsequently updated.)  Two conditions are enumerated in the memorandum.  First, the deferral applies only with respect to any employee the amount of whose wages payable “during any bi-weekly pay period generally is less than $4,000, calculated on a pre-tax basis, or the equivalent amount with respect to other pay periods.”  Second, the amounts deferred shall be deferred without any penalties, interest, additional amount, or addition to the tax.
Continue Reading Trump Executive Action to Defer Employee Share of Social Security Taxes Raises Significant Legal Questions for Employers

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 COVID-19 pandemic.

Section 213 of the Bill would create a new “safe and healthy workplace tax credit,” which would provide a refundable payroll tax credit equal to 50% of an employer’s “qualified employee protection expenses,” such as COVID-19 tests, protective personal equipment, and cleaning supplies.  The new tax credit would also cover “qualified workplace reconfiguration expenses,” including workspace modifications to protect employees and customers from the spread of COVID-19, and “qualified workplace technology expenses,” including technologies designed to reduce contact between employees and customers that were acquired by the employer on or after March 13, 2020, and were not acquired pursuant to a plan in existence before that date.Continue Reading Senate Republican Proposal Includes Payroll Tax Credit to Defray Employer Expenses for COVID-19 Prevention

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 Senate Republican Proposal Would Enhance Employee Retention Credit

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 refunded in excess of the actual amount allowed.
Continue Reading Recapture of Excess COVID-19 Payroll Tax Credits Addressed in New Regs

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…
Continue Reading Senate Republican Proposal Would Expand WOTC to Spur Hiring

The IRS recently released Notice 2020-46, providing favorable tax relief for “leave-based donation programs” designed to aid victims of COVID-19 pandemic.  Under these programs, employees may elect to forgo vacation, sick, or personal leave in exchange for payments that the employer makes to charitable organizations described under section 170(c).  Under this notice, payments employees elect to forgo do not constitute income or wages of the employees for federal income and employment tax purposes if the employer makes the payments, before January 1, 2021, to charitable organizations for the relief of victims of the pandemic.  The IRS will not assert that an opportunity to make this election results in employees’ constructive receipt of the payments.  Accordingly, an employer would not need to include the payments in Box 1, 3 (if applicable), or 5 of the Forms W-2 for employees electing to forgo their vacation, sick, or personal leave.Continue Reading IRS Provides Guidance on Leave Donation Programs in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

On Friday, June 19, the IRS updated several FAQs on its website related to the Employee Retention Credit adopted as part of the Coronavirus Relief, Aid, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act.  The updated FAQs provide additional insight into the IRS’s current thinking regarding employer eligibility for and determination of the credit.  Unfortunately, the updated FAQs still leave significant uncertainty regarding the eligibility of some employers, many of whom will be making a determination of their eligibility before filing their Forms 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, for the second quarter in July.
Continue Reading IRS Updates FAQs on Employee Retention Credit Enacted as Part of CARES Act

The IRS recently released a second set of draft instructions for Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return.  The IRS also released the final Form 941, which was revised significantly from the prior form to accommodate the employer social security tax deferral and employer social security tax credits enacted as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”).  The final Form 941 is identical to the draft Form 941 released in April. To take full advantage of the employer social security tax deferral, however, some employers must take immediate steps within the next several days and in some cases, no later than today depending upon their pay cycles and when they implemented the deferral.
Continue Reading Some Employers Must Act Immediately to Take Advantage of CARES Act Social Security Tax Deferral for Deposits Made Early in the Second Quarter

On May 7, the IRS updated its frequently asked questions to reverse its earlier determination that health plan expenses paid or incurred by an employer to provide health benefits to furloughed employees who were not paid other wages were not qualified health plan expenses for which an employer could claim…
Continue Reading IRS Reverses Course on Health Plan Expenses for Furloughed Employees