Meg E. Manchester

On December 27, 2020, the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (TCDTR Act) amended the employee retention credit (ERC) provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Among other changes, the ERC is now available from January 1, 2021 through June 30, 2021. Below is a description of the ERC available under the CARES Act and a list of the modifications now in place under the TCDTR Act. ERC under the CARES Act The ERC

On January 6, 2021, the office of the Maryland Comptroller announced extended filing and payment deadlines for certain Maryland business taxes and quarterly estimated income tax returns and payments. The extension will allow certain business taxes and estimated income tax returns and payments that would be due in January, February and March 2021 to be deferred until April 15, 2021. The action is similar to an extension granted last year to businesses during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On November 18, 2020 the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a Revenue Ruling (Rev. Rul. 2020-27) and a Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc. 2020-51) that discuss the handling of deductions for expenses paid with forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan proceeds in circumstances when either: (i) forgiveness has been applied for, but not granted by the end of 2020, or (ii) forgiveness has not been applied for, but all events have been met to give rise to a forgiveness application in

Background   On August 8, 2020, a Presidential Memorandum was issued that allowed employers to defer withholding and payment of certain payroll tax obligations of their employees. To implement the Presidential Memorandum, the IRS issued Notice 2020-65 (“Notice”) on August 28, 2020, which gave employers the option to defer withholding of employee-side Social Security taxes from employee paychecks. The Notice allowed for the deferral of such withholding for wages paid from September 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020, if the wages were

On May 28, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives near-unanimously passed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020, H.R. 7010 (the “PPP Flex Act” or the “Flex Act”) as national leaders look to provide additional, more expansive support to small businesses impacted by COVID-19. The Senate passed the PPP Flex Act on June 3, and President Trump signed it into law on June 5.  This bill follows multiple rounds of guidance released by the Small Business Administration (the “SBA”),

On April 30, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2020-32 (the “Notice”) to address the deductibility of loan amounts received under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”). In summary, the IRS stated no tax deduction will be allowed for expenses paid with PPP loan proceeds to the extent such amounts are forgiven under the terms of the CARES Act. This alert outlines the PPP loan forgiveness provision

On April 9, 2020, the IRS issued Notice 2020-23 (the “Notice”), which extends additional tax deadlines to cover individuals, estates, corporations and others. The Notice also provides relief with respect to certain “Specified Time-Sensitive Actions” that are due to be performed on or after April 1, 2020, and before July 15, 2020. For purposes of the Notice, the term “Specified Time-Sensitive Action” includes certain deadlines for taxpayers to identify property and complete a 1031 exchange. It also includes the prescribed

On April 9, 2020, the IRS issued Notice 2020-23 (the “Notice”), which extends more tax deadlines to cover individuals, estates, corporations and others. The notice expands upon tax relief granted in prior IRS notices that postponed certain tax filing and payment deadlines until July 15, 2020. The Notice provides extensions for a variety of tax form filings and payment obligations that are due between April 1, 2020, and July 15, 2020, including estimated tax payments due June 15 and the

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“Act”) contains several business relief provisions, including an employer payroll tax deferral (“Deferral”) and a companion provision allowing an employee retention credit (“Credit”). 1.    Deferral The Act allows for deferral of the employer portion of Social Security tax imposed by I.R.C. Section 3111(a). Deferral does not apply to employee income tax withholding, the employee or employer portion of the Medicare tax, or the employee portion of the Social Security tax. There are no employer eligibility requirements

On April 1, 2020, the IRS finalized Form 7200 – Advance Payment of Employer Credits Due to COVID-19 and the accompanying instructions. The Form provides additional guidance for eligible employers to take advantage of refundable tax credits under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act. Background Employer Relief under the FFCRA. Under the FFCRA, an eligible employer’s costs associated with required paid family and sick leave are offset dollar-for-dollar (up to

On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, H.R. 748 (the “Act”), which contains a host of tax measures as part of a $2 trillion aid package to provide economic stimulus in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the focus of the legislation is not tax, a large number of tax provisions are included in the Act, which affect both individuals and businesses. Important Note:  The following is a general summary of