COVID-19 Tax Credit
Questions are submitted by our Workest readers. Sign up to ask an HR question of your own, and to contribute to the conversation
The employee’s name;
The date or dates for which leave is requested;
A statement of the COVID-19 related reason the employee is requesting leave and written support for such reason; and
A statement that the employee is unable to work, including by means of telework, for such reason.
Once that’s established, you’ll want to keep meticulous records of all the amounts you’ve paid, including wages, qualified health care expenses and your portion of Medicare taxes paid. When you file your quarterly tax return, typically Form 941 but you may use another depending on your business, you’ll report those payments on the form. If there is an overpayment (that is you’ve paid more in leave payments than your actual tax burden) you’ll get a refund. If you haven’t, the amount of quarterly taxes due will be reduced. The IRS has updated Form 941 with instructions on how to request the credit. Don’t use the old forms – the new one can be found here:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i941.pdf
More details on the credit are available through the IRS COVID-19 web page of FAQs here:
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/covid-19-related-tax-credits-for-required-paid-leave-provided-by-small-and-midsize-businesses-faqs#how_to_claim
If you anticipate you won’t be able to manage the payments, you can request an advance on the tax credits, by submitting IRS Form 7200. Find it here:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f7200.pdf
What do you think? Join The Conversation
Please login or Register to submit your answer
This website provides general information related to Zenefits services and related laws and best practices. This content and Zenefits employees do not provide legal advice. While we strive to provide useful general information applicable to the majority of our readers, we do not - and cannot - provide legal advice specific to your company and your situation. Already a Zenefits customer? Enjoy on-demand HR Advisory Services for all your HR and compliance questions. If not, learn more here.