Advocacy & tax relief

TOPICS / COVID-19

September 1, 2020

State conformity to CARES Act relief

Relative to CARES Act tax provisions, state conformity to date is varied.

August 28, 2020

Guidance issued on payroll tax deferral

The IRS issued guidance on the payroll tax deferral ordered by President Donald Trump on Aug. 8. The notice requires employers to withhold deferred taxes during the period from Jan. 1 to April 30, 2021.

August 27, 2020

Tools to help nonfilers receive economic impact payments

The IRS provided information and tools that tax practitioners can use to inform individuals who are eligible to receive economic impact payments but did not receive one automatically.

August 20, 2020

Implementing the payroll tax deferral

We explore the range of issues that Treasury and the IRS face as they implement this order and what it all could mean for employers and employees.

August 13, 2020

AICPA requests guidance on payroll tax deferral

The AICPA has asked Treasury and the IRS for guidance on the recently announced executive order that defers some employee payroll taxes that would be due between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31.

August 11, 2020

AICPA encourages COVID-19 tax relief and issues new auditing standards

Recent AICPA advocacy efforts have included requesting tax relief related to the coronavirus pandemic and issuing auditing standards related to audit evidence and auditing accounting estimates.

August 10, 2020

Executive action delays workers’ payroll tax payments

President Donald Trump issued presidential memorandum to defer the withholding, deposit, and payment of certain payroll taxes paid from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31, 2020.

August 4, 2020

AICPA continues to ask Congress to include PPP deductibility in upcoming legislation

In a letter dated Aug. 4, 2020, the AICPA joined over 170 organizations to urge Congress to “include a technical correction addressing the tax treatment of loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)” in its next round of legislation addressing the coronavirus pandemic.

July 27, 2020

Guidance on recapture of excess employment tax credits

The IRS issued temporary and proposed regulations on how it will recapture excess credits taken by employers under recent coronavirus relief legislation.

July 20, 2020

AICPA urges Congress to act on PPP issues, other topics in pandemic legislation

In a letter to congressional leaders on another round of pandemic aid legislation, the AICPA urged action on Paycheck Protection Program issues, tax obstacles to remote work, state and local government funding, and employer liability related to the coronavirus pandemic.

July 9, 2020

How to report coronavirus paid sick leave and family leave to employees

The IRS issued guidance on how employers should report qualified sick and family leave paid to employees under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

July 1, 2020

AICPA tax comment letters include pandemic-related advocacy

The AICPA Tax Policy and Advocacy team produced six tax-related comment letters in June with a goal of assisting accounting professionals and taxpayers.

July 1, 2020

A tax marathon check-in

Ed Karl and Chris Hesse update us on how the 2020 marathon of a tax return filing season is going, whether the coronavirus-related return due date delay until July 15 is long enough, and what other relief taxpayers and their CPAs need.

June 30, 2020

IRS will not postpone July 15 deadline

The IRS announced that it will not further postpone federal tax filing and payment deadlines beyond July 15.

June 5, 2020

Qualified opportunity zone rules are relaxed

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IRS further postponed the 180-day deadline to invest in a qualified opportunity fund from July 15, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2020, extended other deadlines, and relaxed some qualified investment rules.

May 15, 2020

COVID-19 tax guidance for businesses

The IRS provided guidance on how businesses can take advantage of CARES Act tax provisions.

May 15, 2020

IRS grants relief for COVID-19 disruptions on tax residency

Time rules are eased for the substantial presence test for foreign citizens in the US and the foreign earned income exclusion for US citizens abroad.

May 15, 2020

IRS posts FAQs on paid COVID-19-related sick and family leave

Employer tax credits for small businesses are provided under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

May 12, 2020

IRS allows midyear changes to health coverage, dependent care elections

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the IRS is allowing employers to permit their employees to change their health coverage elections or dependent care elections during the year and is extending the carryover period for health flexible spending arrangement (FSA) expenses.

May 7, 2020