CARES Act Payroll Tax Forum: IRS Weighs in on High-Profile Employee Retention Tax Credits

Decisions aimed at preserving your workforce in response to the COVID-19 pandemic can have a long-term impact on your business. As you prepare to emerge from government shutdown orders, recall that your workforce is your single most valuable asset.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides employee retention tax credits to help employers defray the cost of keeping their workforces intact in the post-COVID business environment. At the same time, taking advantage of these credits requires careful, upfront planning, particularly in light of the recent FAQs issued by the IRS.

During our interactive discussion, we will address the critical matters that you need to understand when planning for these credits, including:

  • What constitutes a partial suspension of business operations, and how government shutdown orders impact those suspensions under the FAQs
  • Which types of compensation and benefits are considered “qualified wages” under the FAQs, including the treatment of health expenses
  • How the FAQs differ from the Joint Committee on Taxation Bluebook
  • How aggregation rules can defeat or enable an employer’s qualification to qualify for employee retention tax credits
  • What you should do to claim and report the credits on IRS quarterly tax reporting forms
  • Which employment law matters you should consider before taking employee retention tax credits

Have an (anonymous) question that you would like us to answer? Be sure to submit it via the registration link.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

11:00 am – 12:00 pm PDT
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm MDT
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm CDT
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm EDT

Register now.

Andrew Liazos
Andrew C. Liazos is the global chair of McDermott’s Benefits & Compensation Practice Group and has practiced at McDermott for over 25 years. Andrew focuses his practice on compensation and benefit matters, including related securities, M&A, IPO, private equity, international and litigation matters. Clients range from Fortune 500 companies to compensation committees to individual executives in employment and severance negotiations. Read Andrew Liazos' full bio.


Brian Tiemann
Brian J. Tiemann counsels public and private companies on a broad range of employee benefit matters, including matters related to pension plans, 401(k) plans and executive and incentive compensation. He advises plan fiduciaries with respect to their fiduciary duties, investment policies and alternative investments. He also advises multinational clients on global employee benefits matters, particularly with respect to global incentive compensation plans. Brian has extensive experience negotiating investment management agreements and service provider agreements. Read Brian Tiemann's full bio.


David Fuller
David Fuller focuses his practice on matters involving employee fringe benefits, independent contractor/employee classification, payroll taxes, information reporting, corporate aircraft, supplemental unemployment compensation benefits (SUB pay), and the contingent workforce (outsourcing, PEOs, and employee leasing). His unique practice includes tax litigation on a wide range of significant FICA and tax refund matters. Read David Fuller's full bio.


Rachel B. Cowen
Rachel B. Cowen focuses her practice in various employment discrimination and wrongful termination cases in federal and state courts. Rachel’s experience includes prosecuting and defending employee mobility and trade secret litigation on an emergency injunctive basis. She also counsels employers facing union organizing activity and picketing, and has successfully tried numerous cases before the National Labor Relations Board. She also handles collective bargaining and labor arbitrations. Additionally, Rachel represents financial services companies and professional engineering firms in unfair competition cases. Read Rachel Cowen's full bio.


Sarah L. Engle
Sarah Engle focuses her practice on employee benefits matters. She counsels clients regarding a variety of issues, including the design, drafting and operation of tax-qualified pension and profit sharing plans, health and welfare arrangements, and deferred compensation plans. Sarah has experience advising clients on employee benefits design, implementation and transition matters arising in connection with corporate mergers and acquisitions. Read Sarah Engle's full bio.

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