Month: January 2021

To help you make sure you don’t miss any important 2021 deadlines, we’ve provided this summary of when various tax-related forms, payments and other actions are due. Please review the calendar and let us know if you have any questions about the deadlines or would like assistance in meeting them.

Date Deadline for February 1 Individuals: Filing a 2020 income tax return (Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR) and paying tax due, to avoid penalties for underpaying the January 15 installment of estimated taxes.

Businesses: Providing Form 1098, Form 1099-MISC (except for those that have a February 16 deadline), Form 1099-NEC and Form W-2G to recipients.

Employers: Providing 2020 Form W-2 to employees. Reporting income tax withholding and FICA taxes for fourth quarter 2020 (Form 941). Filing an annual return of federal unemployment taxes (Form 940) and paying any tax due.

Employers: Filing 2020 Form W-2 (Copy A) and transmittal Form W-3 with the Social Security Administration.

February 10 Individuals: Reporting January tip income of $20 or more to employers (Form 4070).

Employers:Reporting income tax withholding and FICA taxes for fourth quarter 2020 (Form 941) and filing a 2020 return for federal unemployment taxes (Form 940), if you deposited on time and in full all of the associated taxes due.

February 16 Businesses: Providing Form 1099-B, 1099-S and certain Forms 1099-MISC (those in which payments in Box 8 or Box 10 are being reported) to recipients.

Individuals: Filing a new Form W-4 to continue exemption for another year, if you claimed exemption from federal income tax withholding in 2020.

March 1 Businesses: Filing Form 1098, Form 1099 (other than those with a February 1 or February 16 deadline) and Form W-2G and transmittal Form 1096 for interest, dividends and miscellaneous payments made during 2020. (Electronic filers can defer filing to March 31.) March 10 Individuals: Reporting February tip income of $20 or more to employers (Form 4070). March 15 Calendar-year S corporations: Filing a 2020 income tax return (Form 1120S) or filing for an automatic six-month extension (Form 7004), and paying any tax due.

Calendar-year partnerships: Filing a 2020 income tax return (Form 1065 or Form 1065-B) or requesting an automatic six-month extension (Form 7004).

March 31 Employers: Electronically filing 2020 Form 1097, Form 1098, Form 1099 (other than those with an earlier deadline) and Form W-2G. April 12 Individuals: Reporting March tip income of $20 or more to employers (Form 4070). April 15 Individuals: Filing a 2020 income tax return (Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR) or filing for an automatic six-month extension (Form 4868), and paying any tax due. (See June 15 for an exception for certain taxpayers.)

Individuals: Paying the first installment of 2021 estimated taxes, if not paying income tax through withholding (Form 1040-ES).

Individuals: Making 2020 contributions to a traditional IRA or Roth IRA (even if a 2020 income tax return extension is filed).

Individuals: Making 2020 contributions to a SEP or certain other retirement plans (unless a 2020 income tax return extension is filed).

Individuals: Filing a 2020 gift tax return (Form 709) or filing for an automatic six-month extension (Form 8892), and paying any gift tax due. Filing for an automatic six-month extension (Form 4868) to extend both Form 1040 and, if no gift tax is due, Form 709.

Household employers: Filing Schedule H, if wages paid equal $2,200 or more in 2020 and Form 1040 isn’t required to be filed. For those filing Form 1040, Schedule H is to be submitted with the return and is thus extended to the due date of the return.

Trusts and estates: Filing an income tax return for the 2020 calendar year (Form 1041) or filing for an automatic five-and-a-half month extension to October 1 (Form 7004), and paying any income tax due.

Calendar-year corporations: Filing a 2020 income tax return (Form 1120) or filing for an automatic six-month extension (Form 7004), and paying any tax due.

Calendar-year corporations: Paying the first installment of 2021 estimated income taxes.

April 30 Employers: Reporting income tax withholding and FICA taxes for first quarter 2021 (Form 941), and paying any tax due. May 10 Individuals: Reporting April tip income, $20 or more, to employers (Form 4070).

Employers: Reporting income tax withholding and FICA taxes for first quarter 2021 (Form 941), if you deposited on time and in full all of the associated taxes due.

May 17 Exempt organizations: Filing a 2020 calendar-year information return (Form 990, Form 990-EZ or Form 990-PF) or filing for an automatic six-month extension (Form 8868) and paying any tax due.

Small exempt organizations (with gross receipts normally of $50,000 or less): Filing a 2020 e-Postcard (Form 990-N), if not filing Form 990 or Form 990-EZ.

June 10 Individuals: Reporting May tip income, $20 or more, to employers (Form 4070). June 15 Individuals: Filing a 2020 individual income tax return (Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR) or filing for a four-month extension (Form 4868), and paying any tax and interest due, if you live outside the United States.

Individuals: Paying the second installment of 2021 estimated taxes, if not paying income tax through withholding (Form 1040-ES).

Calendar-year corporations: Paying the second installment of 2021 estimated income taxes.

July 12 Individuals: Reporting June tip income, $20 or more, to employers (Form 4070). August 2 Employers: Reporting income tax withholding and FICA taxes for second quarter 2021 (Form 941), and paying any tax due.

Employers: Filing a 2020 calendar-year retirement plan report (Form 5500 or Form 5500-EZ) or requesting an extension.

August 10 Individuals: Reporting July tip income, $20 or more, to employers (Form 4070).

Employers: Reporting income tax withholding and FICA taxes for second quarter 2021 (Form 941), if you deposited on time and in full all of the associated taxes due.

September 10 Individuals: Reporting August tip income, $20 or more, to employers (Form 4070). September 15 Individuals: Paying the third installment of 2021 estimated taxes, if not paying income tax through withholding (Form 1040-ES).

Calendar-year corporations: Paying the third installment of 2021 estimated income taxes.

Calendar-year S corporations: Filing a 2020 income tax return (Form 1120S) and paying any tax, interest and penalties due, if an automatic six-month extension was filed.

Calendar-year S corporations: Making contributions for 2020 to certain employer-sponsored retirement plans, if an automatic six-month extension was filed.

Calendar-year partnerships: Filing a 2020 income tax return (Form 1065 or Form 1065-B), if an automatic six-month extension was filed.

October 1 Trusts and estates: Filing an income tax return for the 2020 calendar year (Form 1041) and paying any tax, interest and penalties due, if an automatic five-and-a-half month extension was filed.

Employers: Establishing a SIMPLE or a Safe-Harbor 401(k) plan for 2020, except in certain circumstances.

October 12 Individuals: Reporting September tip income, $20 or more, to employers (Form 4070). October 15

 

Individuals: Filing a 2020 income tax return (Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR) and paying any tax, interest and penalties due, if an automatic six-month extension was filed (or if an automatic four-month extension was filed by a taxpayer living outside the United States).

Individuals: Making contributions for 2020 to certain existing retirement plans or establishing and contributing to a SEP for 2020, if an automatic six-month extension was filed.

Individuals: Filing a 2020 gift tax return (Form 709) and paying any tax, interest and penalties due, if an automatic six-month extension was filed.

Calendar-year C corporations: Filing a 2020 income tax return (Form 1120) and paying any tax, interest and penalties due, if an automatic six-month extension was filed.

Calendar-year C corporations: Making contributions for 2020 to certain employer-sponsored retirement plans, if an automatic six-month extension was filed.

November 1 Employers: Reporting income tax withholding and FICA taxes for third quarter 2021 (Form 941) and paying any tax due. November 10 Individuals: Reporting October tip income, $20 or more, to employers (Form 4070).

Employers: Reporting income tax withholding and FICA taxes for third quarter 2021 (Form 941), if you deposited on time and in full all of the associated taxes due.

November 15 Exempt organizations: Filing a 2020 calendar-year information return (Form 990, Form 990-EZ or Form 990-PF) and paying any tax, interest and penalties due, if a six-month extension was previously filed. December 10 Individuals: Reporting November tip income, $20 or more, to employers (Form 4070). December 15 Calendar-year corporations: Paying the fourth installment of 2021 estimated income taxes. December 31 Employers: Establishing a retirement plan for 2021 (generally other than a SIMPLE, a Safe-Harbor 401(k) or a SEP).

© 2021

COVID-19 has shut down many businesses, causing widespread furloughs and layoffs. Fortunately, employers that keep workers on their payrolls are eligible for a refundable Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC), which was extended and enhanced in the latest law.

Background on the credit

The CARES Act, enacted in March of 2020, created the ERTC. The credit:

• • Equaled 50% of qualified employee wages paid by an eligible employer in an applicable 2020 calendar quarter,
  • Was subject to an overall wage cap of $10,000 per eligible employee, and
  • Was available to eligible large and small employers.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, enacted December 27, 2020, extends and greatly enhances the ERTC. Under the CARES Act rules, the credit only covered wages paid between March 13, 2020, and December 31, 2020. The new law now extends the covered wage period to include the first two calendar quarters of 2021, ending on June 30, 2021.

In addition, for the first two quarters of 2021 ending on June 30, the new law increases the overall covered wage ceiling to 70% of qualified wages paid during the applicable quarter (versus 50% under the CARES Act). And it increases the per-employee covered wage ceiling to $10,000 of qualified wages paid during the applicable quarter (versus a $10,000 annual ceiling under the original rules).

Interaction with the PPP

In a change retroactive to March 12, 2020, the new law also stipulates that the employee retention credit can be claimed for qualified wages paid with proceeds from Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans that aren’t forgiven.

What’s more, the new law liberalizes an eligibility rule. Specifically, it expands eligibility for the credit by reducing the required year-over-year gross receipts decline from 50% to 20% and provides a safe harbor allowing employers to use prior quarter gross receipts to determine eligibility.

We can help

These are just some of the changes made to the ERTC, which rewards employers that can afford to keep workers on the payroll during the COVID-19 crisis. Contact us for more information about this tax saving opportunity.

© 2021

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA) was signed into law in late December. The sprawling legislation contains billions of dollars in additional stimulus funding in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as numerous unrelated provisions. Let’s take a closer look at the provisions that are most likely to affect your company’s bottom line.

Paycheck Protection Program

The CAA includes another $284 billion in funding for forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), for both first-time and so called “second draw” borrowers. New loans can be made through March 31, 2021, or until the funding is exhausted. The new law expands the allowable uses for PPP funds, provides a simplified forgiveness process for smaller loans, and clarifies the proper tax treatment of loan proceeds and forgiven amounts.

The second draw loans are intended for smaller and harder hit businesses. Eligible borrowers include businesses, certain nonprofits, self-employed individuals, sole proprietors and independent contractors.

To qualify for a second draw, a borrower must have no more than 300 employees and have used (or will use) all of the proceeds of its first PPP loan. Borrowers generally also must demonstrate at least a 25% reduction in gross receipts in one quarter of 2020 compared with the same quarter in 2019. For loans of $150,000 or less, a borrower can submit a certification attesting that it meets the revenue loss requirements on or before the date it submits its loan forgiveness application.

Loans are limited to 2.5 times average monthly payroll costs in the year prior to the loan or the calendar year, up to $2 million. Accommodation and food service businesses may receive loans for up to 3.5 times their average monthly payroll. Businesses can obtain only a single second draw loan, and businesses with multiple locations that are eligible under the initial PPP requirements can have no more than 300 employees per physical location.

The CARES Act, which created the PPP, limited the funds to payroll, mortgage, rent and utility payments. The CAA allows businesses to also apply the funds to:

• Covered operating expenses, including software or cloud computing services that facilitate business operations, product and service delivery, payroll processing, human resources, sales and billing, accounting or tracking supplies, inventory, records, and expenses,
• Uninsured costs related to property damage, vandalism or looting during 2020 public disturbances,
• Supplier costs according to a contract, purchase order or order for goods, in effect before taking out the loan, that are essential to the borrower’s operations, and
• Worker protection expenses incurred to comply with federal or state health and safety guidelines related to COVID-19 (for example, personal protective equipment, ventilation systems and drive-through windows).

As with the first round of PPP loans, full forgiveness requires a 60/40 cost allocation between payroll and nonpayroll costs. In other words, you must spend at least 60% of the funds on payroll over your covered period, which may range from eight to 24 weeks.

The CAA creates a simplified forgiveness application for loans up to $150,000. Such loans will be forgiven if the borrower signs and submits to the lender a one-page certification form from the Small Business Administration (SBA). The certification requires a description of the number of employees retained due to the loan, the estimated total amount of funds spent on payroll and the total loan amount. Borrowers must retain relevant records regarding employment for four years and other records for three years.

The CAA also eliminates the previous requirement that borrowers deduct the amount of any SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) advances from their PPP forgiveness amount.

Additionally, the CAA addresses some of the confusion that had arisen regarding PPP tax issues. It specifies that a borrower need not include any forgiven amounts in its gross income. And — contrary to the position taken earlier by the IRS — it states that borrowers can deduct otherwise deductible expenses paid with forgiven PPP proceeds. The CAA also provides that tax basis and other attributes aren’t reduced by loan forgiveness (special rules apply to partnerships and S corporations). These tax provisions apply to second draw loans, too.

Other financial assistance

The CAA provides $20 billion for new EIDL grants for businesses in low-income communities and $15 billion for live venues, independent movie theaters and cultural institutions.

On the tax front, it states that a borrower’s gross income doesn’t include forgiveness of certain loans, emergency EIDL grants and certain loan repayment assistance provided by the CARES Act. As with PPP loans, you can deduct your otherwise deductible expenses paid with such forgiven amounts, and forgiveness won’t reduce your tax basis and other attributes (special rules apply to partnerships and S corporations). Similar treatment applies to targeted EIDL advances and Grants for Shuttered Venues.

Employee Retention Credit

To encourage businesses to maintain their workforces, the CARES Act created the Employee Retention Credit, a refundable credit against payroll tax for employers whose:

• Operations were fully or partially suspended due to a COVID-19-related governmental shutdown order, or
• Gross receipts dropped more than 50% compared to the same quarter in the previous year (until gross receipts exceed 80% of gross receipts in the earlier quarter).

Employers with more than 100 employees could receive the credit if they closed due to COVID-19. Those with 100 or fewer employees received the credit regardless of whether they were open for business.

The credit equaled 50% of up to $10,000 in compensation — including health care benefits — paid to an eligible employee from March 13, 2020, through December 31, 2020. The CAA extends the credit for eligible employers that continue to pay wages during COVID-19 closures or reduced revenue through June 30, 2021.

Notably, as of January 1, 2021, the CAA hikes the credit from 50% of qualified wages to 70%. It also expands eligibility by reducing the requisite year-over-year gross receipt reduction from 50% to only 20% and raises the limit on per-employee creditable wages from $10,000 for the year to $10,000 per quarter.

In addition, the threshold for a business to be deemed a “large employer” — and thus subject to a tighter standard when determining the qualified wage base — is lifted from 100 to 500 employees.

The CAA includes some retroactive clarifications and technical improvements regarding the original credit, as well. For example, it provides that employers that receive PPP loans still qualify for the credit for wages not paid with forgiven PPP funds.

Deferred payroll taxes

Businesses were given the option to withhold their employees’ share of Social Security taxes from September 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. Those that did were originally directed to increase the withholding and pay the deferred amounts on a prorated basis from wages and compensation paid between January 1, 2021, and April 30, 2021.

Under the CAA, such employers now have all of 2021 to withhold and pay the deferred taxes.

Non-COVID-19 disaster relief

The CAA also acknowledges the recent disasters not related to the pandemic (for example, wildfires). Among other things, it provides a tax credit of up to $2,400 (40% of up to $6,000 of wages) per employee, to employers in qualified disaster zones.

The credit applies to wages paid, regardless of whether services were actually performed in exchange for those wages. The CAA also modifies the CARES Act to allow corporations to make qualified disaster relief contributions of up to 100% of their 2020 taxable income.

Business meals deduction

For 2021 and 2022, you can deduct 100% (up from 50%) for food and beverages as long as they’re “provided by a restaurant.” The IRS will likely issue guidance on the deduction, particularly the meaning of the term “provided by a restaurant.”

Retirement plans

The tax code allows “qualified future transfers” of up to 10 years of retiree health and life costs from a company’s pension plan to a retiree’s health benefits or life insurance account within the plan. These transfers must meet certain requirements (for example, the plan must be 120% funded) that pandemic-related market volatility has made too difficult to meet in some cases.

In response, the CAA allows employers to make a one-time election on or before December 31, 2021, to end any existing transfer period for any taxable year beginning after the election in certain circumstances.

The law also includes a partial termination safe harbor for retirement plans in light of 2020’s pandemic-related workforce fluctuations. Plans won’t be treated as having a partial termination (which would trigger 100% vesting for affected participants) if the number of active participants on March 31, 2021, is at least 80% of the number covered by the plan on March 13, 2020. The safe harbor applies to plan years that include the period beginning on March 13, 2020, and ending on March 31, 2021.

Charitable deductions

The CAA extends, through 2021, the CARES Act provision that increases the limitation on corporations’ cash charitable contributions from 10% of taxable income to 25%. Any excess corporate cash contributions will be carried forward to subsequent tax years. The limitation on deductions for donations of food inventory, which the CARES Act increased to 25% for 2020, is similarly extended through 2021.

Tax extenders

The CAA incorporates several “extenders” of tax breaks. For example, it extends both the New Markets Tax Credit and the Work Opportunity Tax Credit through 2025. The employer credit for paid family and medical leave is extended through 2025 for wages paid in tax years after 2020.

The law extends through 2025 the period for which an empowerment zone designation is in effect. But the enhanced expensing rules and nonrecognition of gain on rollover of empowerment zone investments are terminated for property placed in service in tax years beginning after December 31, 2020. Empowerment zone tax-exempt bonds and employment credits also weren’t extended beyond December 31, 2020.

A loaded law

At almost 5,600 pages, the CAA contains many more components that could impact your business and personal taxes. Please contact us if you have any questions about these or other provisions.

© 2021