William Byrnes' Tax, Wealth, and Risk Intelligence

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Prof. William H. Byrnes

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

This week’s updates are primarily focused on employee benefits issues that have taken a turn during the COVID 19 era. First, dependent care FSAs can play an increasingly important role for employees who are facing dependent care costs that may be drastically different than what they had anticipated when they were considering their benefit elections in late 2019. New rules allow for mid-year changes to those elections. Also, employers who continue to pay for healthcare coverage for furloughed employees may be able to take advantage of certain tax credits. All this and more and your weekly Tax Facts Online updates!

New PPP Guidance

The Treasury has updated its guidance related to the CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness requirements. The Treasury now notes that most companies with adequate sources of alternative liquidity are likely not eligible for the program. In order to qualify for the loans, PPP borrowers are now required to provide a good faith certification stating that current economic conditions and uncertainty make the loan necessary to support ongoing operations. PPP borrowers who find they cannot make the certification in good faith are permitted to return the funds. For more information on the PPP loan rules, visit Tax Facts Online. Read More

Required Business Expense Reimbursement in the Age of COVID-19

Some employers are now permitting employees to work from home–while others are requiring it. In some jurisdictions (California and Illinois, for example) employers are required to reimburse employees for employment expenses. This may create the need for employers to reimburse employees for the cost of maintaining a home office. Further, the FLSA does not permit an employer to require an employee to pay for business expenses if doing so would reduce the employee’s earnings to below the minimum wage. For more information on the impact of reimbursing business expenses, visit Tax Facts Online. Read More

New Proposed Regs on UBTI Calculations for VEBAs and SUBs

The IRS proposed regulations address the treatment of unrelated business taxable income (UBTI) for certain tax-exempt entities, including VEBAs and SUBs. UBTI is income generated from an activity unrelated to the tax-exempt purpose of the entity. For more information, visit Tax Facts Online. Read More

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