Newsletters

Jan. 6 2021

On December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“CAA”) was signed into law.  The CAA contains both the COVID-Related Tax Relief Act of 2020 (COVIDTRA) and the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (TCDTR).  In addition to providing for stimulus payments of $600 per taxpayer and qualifying child, the CAA also contains numerous tax provisions and extenders as follows:

Do note that any of the below provisions that are applicable to income tax at the state level, California may not conform.

Individual Provisions

Increased deduction for medical expenses – The CAA permanently decreases the limitation for deducting medical expenses to 7.5% of adjusted gross income (“AGI”).  Previous law only allowed for a deduction of medical expenses in excess of 10% of AGI.

Child Tax Credit & Earned Income Credit (“CTC” & “EIC”) – The CAA allows individuals to use their earned income from 2019, if greater, to calculate their CTC & EIC for 2020.

Charitable contributions for taxpayers who do not itemize deductions – The CARES act, passed earlier in 2020, created a new above-the-line deduction for charitable contributions made in 2020 for taxpayers who do not itemize deductions.  The maximum allowable deduction is $300 ($600 for a married couple).  The CAA extends this rule through 2021.

Income limitations for charitable contributions – Under previous law, charitable contributions to qualified organizations were generally limited to 60% of a taxpayer’s AGI.  The CARES act removed the limitation for 2020; the new Act also removes the limitation for 2021.

Education credits – The CAA removes the above the line deduction for tuition and fees in exchange for an expanded application of the Lifetime Learning credit.  This applies to tax years 2021 and beyond.

Exclusion from income for forgiveness of qualified principal residence indebtedness – Forgiveness of debt is generally included in taxable income.  An exception applied for forgiveness of debt that was used to acquire a personal residence.  The maximum which could be excluded was $2 million for a married couple.  This provision was set to expire in 2020.  The CAA extends this exclusion through 2025, but at a reduced amount of $750,000.

Mortgage insurance premiums – The CAA extends the deduction for qualified mortgage insurance premiums through 2021.

Retirement plan distributions – The CAA allows for distributions from retirement plans of up to $100,000 without being subject to the 10% penalty that applies to early retirement distributions.  The distribution, however, will be subject to income tax over a 3-year period.  This extends the relief provided in the CARES Act & expands the eligibility to all taxpayers.

Payroll Provisions

FSA Plans – Employers may choose to allow a carryover of unused funds from 2020 to 2021 and from 2021 to 2022 or to extend the grace period for spending unused FSA funds to 12 months after the plan year.

Extension of Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) credits for paid sick and family leave – The FFCRA, passed earlier in 2020, provided employers a payroll tax credit for paid sick and family leave due to COVID-19.  The Act extends this credit through March 31, 2021.

Employer tax credit for paid family and medical leave – Earlier tax law allowed businesses to claim a general business credit for paid family and medical leave up to 12 weeks per year.  The provision was set to expire at the end of 2020; the Act extends this credit through 2025.

Work opportunity credit – The work opportunity credit is available to employers for hiring individuals from certain targeted groups.  The credit was set to expire at the end of 2020.  The CAA extends the credit through 2025.

Expansion of Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”) – The CARES Act provided a 50% credit for companies who continued to pay their employees during a COVID-19 imposed lockdown.  The CAA expands eligibility for the ERC, increases the credit to 70%, and extends the credit through June 30, 2021.

Extension of deferred payroll taxes – President Trump signed an executive memorandum in August 2020 allowing employers to defer the employee’s share of social security taxes between September 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020.  The taxes were required to be repaid through a reduction in the employee’s pay between January 1, 2021 and April 30, 2021.  The CAA extends the required repayment period to December 31, 2021.

Employer payment of student loans – The CAA extends the current CARES act provision which allows employers to repay education loans incurred by their employees, which was set to expire at the end of 2020.  The CAA extends the provision to 2025.  The maximum annual payment is $5,250.

Business Tax Provisions

Deductions for expenses paid using PPP loan proceeds – The CAA clarifies the original intention of the PPP loan program and allows for full deduction of any expense paid for using PPP loan proceeds.

Bringing back the business lunch – The CAA temporarily allows for a full 100% deduction for meals provided by restaurants that are paid or incurred in 2021 or 2022.

Qualified disaster relief contributions – The CAA creates a new category of “qualified disaster relief contributions” for qualifying contributions made to organizations for disaster relief efforts.  Contributions must be made between January 1, 2020 and 60 days after passage of the Act.  Corporations could receive a deduction of up to 100% of taxable income.

Accelerated depreciation of residential rental property for electing real property trade or business – Real property trades or businesses subject to the interest expense limitations of 163(j) may choose to make an election.  Under the election, the interest limitations will not apply; however, the taxpayer must use ADS depreciation rules resulting in a longer useful life and lower depreciation expense each year.  Under prior law, residential rental property placed in service prior to January 1, 2018 was subject to a 40-year ADS useful life.  The CAA changes this to a 30-year ADS useful life if the taxpayer was not subject to ADS prior to January 1, 2018.

December 27, 2020

 

On December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“CAA”) was signed into law.  The CAA contains both the COVID-Related Tax Relief Act of 2020 (COVIDTRA) and the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (TCDTR).  In addition to providing for stimulus payments of $600 per taxpayer and qualifying child, the CAA also contains numerous tax provisions and extenders as follows:

Do note that any of the below provisions that are applicable to income tax at the state level, California may not conform.

Individual Provisions

Increased deduction for medical expenses – The CAA permanently decreases the limitation for deducting medical expenses to 7.5% of adjusted gross income (“AGI”).  Previous law only allowed for a deduction of medical expenses in excess of 10% of AGI.

Child Tax Credit & Earned Income Credit (“CTC” & “EIC”) – The CAA allows individuals to use their earned income from 2019, if greater, to calculate their CTC & EIC for 2020.

Charitable contributions for taxpayers who do not itemize deductions – The CARES act, passed earlier in 2020, created a new above-the-line deduction for charitable contributions made in 2020 for taxpayers who do not itemize deductions.  The maximum allowable deduction is $300 ($600 for a married couple).  The CAA extends this rule through 2021.

Income limitations for charitable contributions – Under previous law, charitable contributions to qualified organizations were generally limited to 60% of a taxpayer’s AGI.  The CARES act removed the limitation for 2020; the new Act also removes the limitation for 2021.

Education credits – The CAA removes the above the line deduction for tuition and fees in exchange for an expanded application of the Lifetime Learning credit.  This applies to tax years 2021 and beyond.

Exclusion from income for forgiveness of qualified principal residence indebtedness – Forgiveness of debt is generally included in taxable income.  An exception applied for forgiveness of debt that was used to acquire a personal residence.  The maximum which could be excluded was $2 million for a married couple.  This provision was set to expire in 2020.  The CAA extends this exclusion through 2025, but at a reduced amount of $750,000.

Mortgage insurance premiums – The CAA extends the deduction for qualified mortgage insurance premiums through 2021.

Retirement plan distributions – The CAA allows for distributions from retirement plans of up to $100,000 without being subject to the 10% penalty that applies to early retirement distributions.  The distribution, however, will be subject to income tax over a 3-year period.  This extends the relief provided in the CARES Act & expands the eligibility to all taxpayers.

Payroll Provisions

FSA Plans – Employers may choose to allow a carryover of unused funds from 2020 to 2021 and from 2021 to 2022 or to extend the grace period for spending unused FSA funds to 12 months after the plan year.

Extension of Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) credits for paid sick and family leave – The FFCRA, passed earlier in 2020, provided employers a payroll tax credit for paid sick and family leave due to COVID-19.  The Act extends this credit through March 31, 2021.

Employer tax credit for paid family and medical leave – Earlier tax law allowed businesses to claim a general business credit for paid family and medical leave up to 12 weeks per year.  The provision was set to expire at the end of 2020; the Act extends this credit through 2025.

Work opportunity credit – The work opportunity credit is available to employers for hiring individuals from certain targeted groups.  The credit was set to expire at the end of 2020.  The CAA extends the credit through 2025.

Expansion of Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”) – The CARES Act provided a 50% credit for companies who continued to pay their employees during a COVID-19 imposed lockdown.  The CAA expands eligibility for the ERC, increases the credit to 70%, and extends the credit through June 30, 2021.

Extension of deferred payroll taxes – President Trump signed an executive memorandum in August 2020 allowing employers to defer the employee’s share of social security taxes between September 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020.  The taxes were required to be repaid through a reduction in the employee’s pay between January 1, 2021 and April 30, 2021.  The CAA extends the required repayment period to December 31, 2021.

Employer payment of student loans – The CAA extends the current CARES act provision which allows employers to repay education loans incurred by their employees, which was set to expire at the end of 2020.  The CAA extends the provision to 2025.  The maximum annual payment is $5,250.

Business Tax Provisions

Deductions for expenses paid using PPP loan proceeds – The CAA clarifies the original intention of the PPP loan program and allows for full deduction of any expense paid for using PPP loan proceeds.

Bringing back the business lunch – The CAA temporarily allows for a full 100% deduction for meals provided by restaurants that are paid or incurred in 2021 or 2022.

Qualified disaster relief contributions – The CAA creates a new category of “qualified disaster relief contributions” for qualifying contributions made to organizations for disaster relief efforts.  Contributions must be made between January 1, 2020 and 60 days after passage of the Act.  Corporations could receive a deduction of up to 100% of taxable income.

Accelerated depreciation of residential rental property for electing real property trade or business – Real property trades or businesses subject to the interest expense limitations of 163(j) may choose to make an election.  Under the election, the interest limitations will not apply; however, the taxpayer must use ADS depreciation rules resulting in a longer useful life and lower depreciation expense each year.  Under prior law, residential rental property placed in service prior to January 1, 2018 was subject to a 40-year ADS useful life.  The CAA changes this to a 30-year ADS useful life if the taxpayer was not subject to ADS prior to January 1, 2018.

Tax Alerts
Tax Briefing(s)

  Rental Real Estate as Qualified Business Income Deduction effective to December 31, 2025

 If you operate a rental real estate business, you may qualify to claim the business income deduction under Section 199A in one of two ways- details in our article detail.

 


For years 2021 and 2022 only,  Meals and entertainment 100% deductible  under certain conditions.  California does not conform and will limit deduction to 50%.

 


WASHINGTON—The Internal Revenue Service will be resuming issuing collections notices to taxpayers that were previously suspending during the COVID-19 pandemic, although a date on when they will begin to be sent out has not been set.


The Internal Revenue Service will use 2018 as the benchmark year for determining audit rates as it plans to increase enforcement for those individuals and businesses making more than $400,000 per year.


The Supreme Court has held that the exception to the notice requirement in Code Sec. 7609(c)(2)(D)(i) does not apply where a delinquent taxpayer has a legal interest in accounts or records summoned by the IRS under Code Sec. 7602(a). The IRS had entered official assessments against an individual for unpaid taxes and penalties, following which a revenue officer had issued summonses to three banks seeking financial records of several third parties, including the taxpayers. Subsequently, the taxpayers moved to quash the summonses. The District Court concluded that, under Code Sec. 7609(c)(2)(D)(i), no notice was required and that taxpayers, therefore, could not bring a motion to quash. 


An IRS notice provides interim guidance describing rules that the IRS intends to include in proposed regulations regarding the domestic content bonus credit requirements for:


A married couple’s petition for redetermination of an income tax deficiency was untimely where they electronically filed their petition from the central time zone but after the due date in the eastern time zone, where the Tax Court is located. Accordingly, the taxpayers’ case was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.


Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Daniel Werfel said changes are coming to address racial disparities among those who get audited annually.


The American Institute of CPAs expressed support for legislation pending in the Senate that would redefine when electronic payments to the Internal Revenue Service are considered timely.


WASHINGTON—The Inflation Reduction Act Strategic Operating Plan was designed to be a living document, an Internal Revenue Service official said.

The plan, which outlines how the IRS plans to spend the additional nearly $80 billion in supplemental funds allocated to it in the Inflation Reduction Act, was written to be a "living document. It’s not meant to be something static that stays on the shelf and never gets updated, and just becomes an historic relic," Bridget Roberts, head of the IRS Transformation and Strategy Office, said May 5, 2023, at the ABA May Tax Meeting.


The IRS Independent Office of Appeals, in coordination with the National Taxpayer Advocate, has invited public feedback on how it can improve conference options for taxpayers and representatives who are not located near an Appeals office, encourage participation of taxpayers with limited English proficiency and ensure accessibility by persons with disabilities. Taxpayers can send their comments to ap.taxpayer.experience@irs.gov by July 10, 2023.


The IRS has released additional Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness guidance.