© 2021 American Payroll Institute, Inc. Inside this issue... Standard Mileage Rates Decrease Flexibility Allowed With Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 IRS Releases 2021 Publication 15-T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Department of Education Extends Federal Student Loan Relief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 IRS Allows COVID-19 Credits for 2020 Qualified Leave Wages Paid in 2021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 DHS Extends Temporary Requirements for Form I-9 Compliance Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 IRS Releases 2021 Form W-4 With Few Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 DOL Finalizes Rule for Classifying Workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 IRS Issues Final Rules on Qualified Transportation Fringe Expenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 IRS Answers Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Learn More About Compliance at APA’s Virtual Capital Summit in March . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 IRS Releases Tax Calendars for 2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 IRS Releases 2021 Form W-4P With Few Revisions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 DOL Issues Final Rule to Change FLSA Tip Credit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 DOL Issues Opinion Letters About FLSA Compliance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 APA Offers Webinars on Nexus and Remote Workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 IRS Announces Quarterly Interest Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Court Rules Employer Failed to Show Reasonable Cause for Penalty Abatement After Owner Has Serious Accident . . . . . . . . . . 11 DOL Issues Field Assistance Bulletins on Virtual Communication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Agencies Issue Final Regulations on Grandfathered Health Plans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 CFPB States Most Earned Wage Access Programs Are Not Credit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Appeals Court Overturns Bankruptcy Court Ruling on Timing Issue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Wage Amount for Government Control Employee Increases to $161,700. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 State and Local News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 January 8, 2021 Volume 29 Issue 1 President Signs Legislation to Fund Government, Give COVID-19 Relief OConsolidated n December 27, President Trump signed H.R. 133, the Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), into law [Pub. L. 116-260]. The law, which funds the federal government for fiscal year 2021 and provides emergency COVID-19-related relief, contains key payroll provisions. Major payroll provisions Qualified leave tax credits extended. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) generally required employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide emergency paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave to employees unable to work or telework due to certain COVID-19-related reasons (together, qualified leave see PAYROLL CURRENTLY, Issue 4, Vol. 28). Eligible employers can get a refundable tax credit equal to the amount of the qualified leave wages, plus allocable qualified health plan expenses. The requirement to provide the qualified leave expired on December 31, 2020. The CAA does not extend the requirement to provide qualified leave. However, the legislation does extend the tax credits. Employers that would have been required to provide qualified leave under the FFCRA if the requirement had not expired, are eligible for tax credits for voluntarily providing qualified leave through March 31, 2021. Employee retention credit extended, expanded. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act established an employee retention tax credit to encourage businesses to keep employees on their payrolls by allowing eligible employers to claim 50% of up to $10,000 in qualified wages paid by employers financially affected by COVID-19 (see PAYROLL CURRENTLY, Issue 4, Vol. 28). The CARES Act defined qualified wages, including health plan expenses, as those that were paid after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021. The wages taken into consideration for the credit depended on the size of an employer’s workforce: Eligible employers with an average number of 100 or fewer full-time employees during 2019 counted wages paid to all employees. Eligible (large) employers with more than 100 full-time employees in 2019 counted only wages paid to employees for time not worked due to the COVID-19-related crisis.
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