Should we have a COVID section in our employee handbook?
Should we have a COVID section in our employee handbook? While COVID will continue to affect our workplaces for some time, we generally recommend not adding COVID policies directly to your handbook. Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to evolve, and federal and state laws related to the pandemic will…
Qualified Disaster Relief Payments
Qualified Disaster Relief Payments As the pandemic moves into a new phase and churches and offices are starting to resume normal operations, it may be time to revisit Internal Revenue Code (the Code) Section 139, an underutilized and often overlooked Code Section. It is an opportunity for churches to reimburse individuals for prior and ongoing…
COVID-19 Home Testing Deductible?
COVID-19 Home Testing Deductible? The IRS recently posted a reminder on their website that the cost of home testing for COVID-19 is an eligible medical expense that can be paid or reimbursed under health flexible spending arrangements (health FSAs), health savings accounts (HSAs), health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), or Archer medical savings accounts (Archer MSAs). That…
I Haven’t Received Our Stimulus Check
I Haven’t Received Our Stimulus Check Many clergy are finding that they are getting direct deposits for only a portion of what they think their stimulus payment should be. Some have gotten half of their payment deposited one week and half the next, and others are finding that their dependents’ share of the stimulus money…
New Educators Guidelines – COVID-19 protective items
Educators can now deduct out-of-pocket expenses for COVID-19 protective items Eligible educators can deduct unreimbursed expenses for COVID-19 protective items to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the classroom. COVID-19 protective items include, but are not limited to: face masks; disinfectant for use against COVID-19; hand soap; hand sanitizer; disposable gloves; tape, paint, or chalk…
Vaccination, Return to Work, and Masking FAQ
Q1: Can we bring all employees back to the church office, but make the unvaccinated keep their masks on? In most states, yes.* Currently the CDC suggests that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks in most places (some workplaces will be an exception, such as healthcare settings), but that non-fully vaccinated people…
Should I Opt-Out of the Advance Child Tax Credit
Child Tax Advance Credit Update Recently many news outlets have been reporting a new “stimulus payment” coming in July. This has caused some confusion. There are no current plans for a fourth economic impact payment (EIP), but instead, the press is calling the upcoming advance child tax credit (CTC) payments a “stimulus payment.” Earlier this…
New law extends COVID tax credit for Churches
The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is a refundable payroll tax credit for up to $5,000 per employee in 2020 and $28,000 in 2021. This temporary credit was enacted by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA). On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue…
IRS Refund Delays
Delayed Refunds Due to RRC Discrepancy Many clergy are still waiting on refunds when they filed their tax return in February. Some tax returns take longer to process than others, including when a return: Includes errors such as an incorrect recovery rebate credit (RRC) amount Was filed with missing information Is affected by identity theft…
Paycheck Protection Loan Forgiveness
Paycheck Protection Loan Forgiveness Many churches applied for and received a Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) Loan through the Small Business Administration to assist in retaining employees and paying other expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to follow the appropriate steps in order to ensure that the loan is forgiven to avoid paying interest…
