Seyfarth Synopsis
: On January 19, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued guidance (the “Guidance”) in accordance with the recently enacted COVID-related Tax Relief Act of 2020 (the “Act”) extending the payment period for employee payroll taxes deferred pursuant to the Presidential Memorandum of August 8, 2020 as implemented by the IRS in Notice 2020-65 (the “Previous Notice”) until December 31, 2021.
The Guidance does not address any of the outstanding questions we previously pointed out
The IRS issued the Previous Notice to implement the Presidential Memorandum which directed the Secretary of the Treasury to defer the withholding and payment of certain employee payroll taxes. Under the Previous Notice, employers are allowed to defer the withholding and payment of the employee portion of social security tax (but not Medicare tax, which must still be withheld and paid) on certain qualifying wages paid during the period of September 1, 2020, through Dece