Returning Value Blog

In light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, many businesses are interested in donating to charity. In order to incentivize charitable giving, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act made some liberalizations to the rules governing charitable deductions. Here are two changes that affect businesses.

Imagine this scenario: A company’s controller is hospitalized, and she’s the only person inside the company who knows how its accounting and payroll software works. She also is the only person with check signing authority, besides the owner, who is in lockdown at his second home out of state. Meanwhile, payroll needs to be processed soon, and unpaid bills are piling up.

As a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, your business may be using independent contractors to keep costs low. But you should be careful that these workers are properly classified for federal tax purposes. If the IRS reclassifies them as employees, it can be an expensive mistake.

As the response to the COVID-19 pandemic progresses, many companies have established operational crisis management teams and adjusted to global restrictions on work and movement. Executives are now beginning to ask the question: How are we going to return to work?

Crises can bring out the best in many people — but perversely, they can also bring out the worst. Many scammers are trying to take advantage of the complex bailout provisions for individuals and businesses. Be on the lookout for a surge of calls and emails from scammers trying to cheat you with promises of financial relief, just when you may be feeling desperate. Tax-related fraud and identity theft scammers are out and about looking to make a quick — and crooked — buck.

Since 2005, remote work has soared 173%, according to 2018 data from American Community Service. Whether you recently adopted this remote work model because of the pandemic or have been utilizing it for years, you should know your wage-and-hour responsibilities.

On March 27, President Trump signed into law another coronavirus (COVID-19) law, which provides extensive relief for businesses and employers. Here are some of the tax-related provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). 

The IRS has issued guidance providing relief from failure to make employment tax deposits for employers that are entitled to the refundable tax credits provided under two laws passed in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The two laws are the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which was signed on March 18, 2020, and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act, which was signed on March 27, 2020.

As the number of employers and employees impacted by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) grows each day, employers with workplace retirement plans may find that employees may be looking to those plans now more than ever to help cover financial hardships they are experiencing. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) (H.R. 748) includes several relief provisions for tax-qualified retirement plans, expands health care flexible spending accounts so funds can be used for over-the-counter items, clarifies some health insurance plan questions, and, through year-end, allows employers to reimburse employees for student loan payments tax-free. This alert explains those items. Further guidance will be needed from the IRS and DOL to answer many open questions about how these relief provisions are intended to work.

The recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides a refundable payroll tax credit for 50% of wages paid by eligible employers to certain employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. The employee retention credit is available to employers, including nonprofit organizations, with operations that have been fully or partially suspended as a result of a government order limiting commerce, travel or group meetings.