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Issue Number: 2020-05

Inside This Issue

1. Get My Payment application debuts on IRS.gov
2. Update for payroll professionals and reporting agents
3. Common errors to avoid when filing Form 7200 Advance Payment of Employer Credits Due to COVID-19
4. Employee Retention Credit available for many businesses financially impacted by COVID-19
5. Notice 2020-21 Effective Date for Employment Tax Credits Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
6. Notice 2020-22 Relief from Penalty for Failure to Deposit Employment Taxes
7. New forms, instructions and publications on IRS.gov

Working with the Treasury Department, the IRS unveiled the new Get My Payment application to let taxpayers check on their Economic Impact Payments. The application will answer common questions as an initial round of more than 80 million Economic Impact Payments hits recipients’ bank accounts.

Get My Payment will show the projected date when a deposit has been scheduled, similar to the “Where’s My Refund tool” many taxpayers are already familiar with. Get My Payment also allows people to provide their bank account information. People who did not use direct deposit on their last tax return can also use the application to input their bank information to receive the payment by direct deposit, expediting receipt.

IRS launches tool to help non-filers register for Economic Impact Payments
Recently, the Treasury Department and the IRS launched a web tool allowing registration for Economic Impact Payments for those who don’t normally file a tax return. The non-filer tool was designed for people who don't have a return filing obligation, including those whose income falls beneath the filing threshold.

The feature is available only on IRS.gov, and users should look for Non-filers: Enter Payment Info Here to take them directly to the tool.

Eligible taxpayers who filed tax returns for 2019 or 2018 will receive the payments automatically. Automatic payments will also go in the near future to those receiving Social Security retirement, survivor or disability benefits (SSDI), Railroad Retirement benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Veterans Affairs beneficiaries.

General IRS information about the Economic Impact Payments is available at IRS.gov/EIP. 

IRS needs your help spreading the word on Economic Impact Payments
To get the word out about Economic Impact Payments (EIP), the IRS compiled a variety of information and outreach materials that can be shared with your families, friends, partners and clients, posted to your websites, included in your internal newsletters and employee emails and shared on social media.

The IRS has prepared a special new page devoted to materials that can be shared by anyone. These materials are available at www.irs.gov/EIPpartners.

COVID-19 Tax Tips series begins
To help taxpayers understand issues related to COVID-19, the IRS started a special series of Tax Tips focused on the Economic Impact Payments, tax scams and other emerging issues.

The Tax Tips are short, plain English descriptions of important tax provisions that are important to taxpayers and businesses. We hope you will help share this information with employees, family and friends; businesses and other groups can also share it with their members and organizations.

People interested in receiving these via email can sign up on the IRS e-news subscription page and select Tax Tips.

For other information on COVID-19 issues and the CARES Act, new information appears regularly on IRS.gov/coronavirus, including the latest on EIP.

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Our efforts to protect IRS employees, taxpayers and our stakeholders mean extremely limited services are currently available. The IRS is unable to process paper tax returns, respond to paper correspondence or staff toll-free live-service lines.

Please use all electronic options available to you on IRS.gov.

Also, here’s more information specifically for payroll professionals and reporting agents.

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The IRS wants to remind taxpayers who are filing Form 7200 about how to reduce common mistakes and improve efficiency in order to receive an advance employer credit.

Using a reputable tax preparer – including certified public accountants, enrolled agents or other knowledgeable tax professionals – can also help avoid errors. Mistakes can result in a processing delay, which can mean it takes more time to get the credit.

Avoid these common errors when preparing Form 7200:

• Missing or inaccurate Employer Identification Number (EIN). Each EIN on a tax return should be exact. Taxpayer are reminded to complete this box.
• Check only one box for applicable calendar quarter. Only one box should be checked for the correct quarter.
• Check only one box for Part 1, Line A. Likewise, only one box should be checked in Part 1, Line A.
• Make sure to complete Part 1, Line B. In Part 1, Line B check either “Yes” or “No”.
• Completing Part II. Taxpayers should make sure they complete all the lines in Part II. 
• Part II, Lines 1-8. Part II should be completed using dollar amounts, not the number of eligible employees.  All lines in Part II should be completed with an actual dollar amount. 
• Check the math. Taxpayers should make sure they check the math on lines 4, 7 and 8.
• Sign the form. Taxpayers should remember to sign the form.  Failure to sign the form will result in an automatic rejection.

More information:
Form and Instructions for 7200
Coronavirus tax relief
Employer credits
FAQs

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If you missed it, the March 31 news release, Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service launching the Employee Retention Credit, encourages businesses to keep employees on their payroll. The refundable tax credit is 50% of up to $10,000 in wages paid by an eligible employer whose business has been financially impacted by COVID-19.

See the news release for more info, including:

• Who qualifies
• How it’s calculated
• How to receive it
• Where to find more information, including frequently asked questions about tax credits for required paid leave

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Notice 2020-21, Effective Date for Employment Tax Credits Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (PDF) provides that employment tax credits for paid qualified sick leave wages and paid qualified family leave wages required by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“the Act”) will apply to such wages and compensation paid for periods beginning on April 1, 2020, and ending on December 31, 2020, and that days beginning on April 1, 2020, and ending on December 31, 2020, will be taken into account for credits for paid qualified sick leave equivalents and paid qualified family leave equivalents for certain self-employed individuals provided by the Act.

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Notice 2020-22, Relief from Penalty for Failure to Deposit Employment Taxes (PDF) provides a waiver of additions to tax for failure to make a deposit of taxes for employers required to pay qualified sick leave wages and qualified family leave wages mandated by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Families First Act) and qualified health plan expenses allocable to these wages. This notice also provides a waiver of additions to tax for failure to make a deposit of taxes for certain employers subject to a full or partial closure order due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) or experiencing a statutorily specified decline in business under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). This notice applies to deposits of Employment Taxes (including withheld income taxes, taxes under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act and taxes under the Railroad Retirement Act) reduced in anticipation of the credits with respect to qualified sick leave wages and qualified family leave wages paid with respect to the period beginning April 1, 2020, and ending December 31, 2020. This notice applies with respect to deposits of Employment Taxes reduced in anticipation of the credits with respect to qualified wages paid with respect to the period beginning on March 13, 2020, and ending December 31, 2020. This relief ensures that such employers may pay qualified sick leave wages and qualified family leave wages required by the Families First Act or qualified wages under the CARES Act using Employment Taxes that would otherwise be required to be deposited without incurring a failure to deposit penalty.

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New forms

• Form 7200, Advance Payment of Employer Credits Due to COVID-19
• Form 7200 (SP), Advance Payment of Employer Credits due to COVID-19 (Spanish Version)

New instructions

• Inst 7200, Instructions for Form 7200, Advance Payment of Employer Credits Due to COVID-19
• Inst 7200 (SP), Instructions for Form 7200, Advance Payment of Employer Credits Due to COVID-19 (Spanish Version)
• Inst W-2 and W-3, Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3, Wage and Tax Statement and Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements

New publications

• Pub 1220, Specifications for Electronic Filing of Forms 1097, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, and W-2G

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