William Byrnes' Tax, Wealth, and Risk Intelligence

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Prof. William H. Byrnes

Robert Bloink, J.D., LL.M.

The devil is in the details, but where exactly? This week we are starting to see how the broad changes in the recent spate of COVID-19 legislation will be administered. We have new notices on loan forgiveness procedures (did you get your PPP loan yet?), COBRA and Medicare, and FFCRA paid leave issues.

The Finer Points of PPP Loan Forgiveness

Loan forgiveness offers powerful assistance to those small businesses who were actually able to receive Paycheck Protection Program loan funds. However, loan forgiveness is not without its costs. While amounts forgiven will not be included in income under the usual cancellation of indebtedness rules, business owners may not be entitled to their typical business deductions either. Notice 2020-32 clarifies that otherwise allowable deductions are disallowed if the payment of the expense (1) results in loan forgiveness under the PPP loan program and (2) the income associated with the loan forgiveness is excluded from income under CARES Act Section 1106(i). For more information on implications of loan forgiveness, visit Tax Facts Online. Read More

New Q&A on CARES Act Qualified Plan Loans & Distributions

The IRS released the first Q&A in what is likely to be a series of guidance on the CARES Act retirement-related provisions. One overarching issue is the IRS confirmation that plan sponsors can rely upon past guidance issued in response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the RMD waiver in 2009 for help implementing the CARES Act provisions. Under initial guidance, individuals are only eligible for COVID-19 related distributions or loans if they themselves are impacted (qualification cannot currently be based on a spouse or dependent’s job loss). The Q&A also clarifies that increased loan limits are currently available between March 27, 2020 and September 22, 2020. Further, the guidance confirms that the loan and distribution relief is optional for plan sponsors–and sponsors can elect to adopt one provision and not another (including the loan repayment option). For more information on the CARES Act loan provisions, visit Tax Facts Online. Read More

New COBRA Notice in Light of Growing Employment Litigation

The DOL released a revised COBRA general notice and election notice on May 1, 2020, in response to increasing furloughs and layoffs in the wake of COVID-19–and a growing risk of employment litigation. Employers are not required to post the new notices, but may wish to in light of the evolving situation. These new notices add information about how Medicare eligibility impacts COBRA eligibility (highlighting the fact that COBRA coverage is usually secondary to Medicare). Employers who use the model notices are deemed to comply with COBRA notice requirements. For more information on COBRA coverage election requirements and COVID-19, visit Tax Facts Online. Read More

Moving to Reopen, Employers Begin Evaluating FFCRA Leave Provisions

Now that many more employers are beginning to evaluate whether to reopen as governments relax restrictions, those who have been closed for upwards of two months will have to evaluate whether they must provide paid leave under the FFCRA as COVID-19 continues to spread. The FFCRA paid sick leave and expanded FMLA provisions only applied to employers who continued to operate in the wake of the pandemic–employees who were simply laid off or furloughed were required to seek unemployment benefits. Upon first glance, the new paid leave requirements under the FFCRA seem to provide 12 weeks of paid time off for most small business employees. However, the benefit triggers differ depending on whether the employee is claiming (1) 80 hours paid sick leave or (2) expanded relief under the FMLA. For more information on the benefit triggers, visit Tax Facts Online. Read More

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