Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Taxes: August-December 2020

And 2020 is still the year of COVID-19. In fact, the deadly coronavirus has been so persistent and there have been so many pandemic-related tax matters, that the original special Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Taxes page was overwhelmed and overflowing.

So I renamed it Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Taxes: March-July 2020 and created this page to finish out the year.

Then 2021 arrived and COVID-19 was still here. Actually, it picked up steam after people decided they were going to escape their self-isolation pods and visit family and friends over the December holidays. So now there's a third special coronavirus tax page named marking COVID/tax posts from for January 2021 until … who knows? Here's hoping we don't need any 2022 versions!

UPDATE, Jan. 1, 2022: This is one time I am not pleased with my prognostication powers. There is indeed a fourth COVID and taxes page, since the coronavirus just will not freakin' let go! Posts in which taxes and the pandemic are connected in 2022 will be found there, Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Taxes: January-... 2022.

A couple of things stay the same on all three pages. First, the items are listed with the most recent post first.

Secondly, this page, like its COVID counterparts, starts off with COVID-19 posts from Don't Mess With Taxes because, well, it's my blog! Then the other sections with coronavirus links from official government websites, professional associations, law and accounting firms, and tax policy think tanks follow.

So enough with the housekeeping. Here's the second collection of coronavirus tax+ matters.

8 Q&As about the $600 COVID-19 payments that already are on their way (Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020)
Full 11 weeks of unemployment assistance will be paid even after COVID relief delay led to lapse (Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020)
Special COVID pandemic tax benefits for charitable help (Monday, Dec. 21, 2020)
IRS goal: Issue most 2019 tax refunds by Dec. 31, 2020 (Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020)
Tax reform is a global concern in wake of COVID-19's costs (Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020)
IRS and FBI warn about business cyber scams that target COVID teleworkers (Friday, Dec. 4, 2020)
COVID relief 2.0 could offer some donors a bigger charitable tax deduction (Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020)
Use Form 8915-E to report, repay COVID-related retirement account distributions (Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020)
IRS won't provide blanket tax relief for penalties assessed during COVID-19 (Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020)
Didn't get COVID-19 stimulus money? Nov. 21 is the last day to register for it (Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020)
Watch out for continuing COVID-19 tax (and more) scams (Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020)
IRS offers tax help to those facing COVID money troubles (Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020)
Deductibility of PPP loan expenses: Tax issues remain at federal and state levels (Friday, Nov. 6, 2020)
IRS is resuming issuance of tax balance-due notices (Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020)
In the wake of disasters & COVID-19, will the IRS be ready for the 2021 tax season? (Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020)
Nov. 10 is national COVID economic relief registration day (Friday, Oct. 23, 2020)
10 ways FSA/HSA funds can help you cope with COVID-19 (Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020)
COVID-19 relief payment deadlines are just days away (Monday, Sept. 28, 2020)
COVID EIPs await non-filers nationwide, especially in some NY ZIP Codes (Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020)
COVID tax credits highlighted by IRS during National Small Business Week (Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020)
No 1099-C for forgiven PPP loans, but this tax form still issued in other taxable canceled debt cases (Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020)
State revenue loss due to COVID-19 not as bad as feared (Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020)
1 million+ Californians top list of missed COVID payments (Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020)
Senators push for end of forced deferral of federal employee payroll tax (Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020)
IRS special letter going to non-filers with info on how to get COVID tax relief payments by year's end (Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020)
Federal workers are forced payroll tax deferral guinea pigs (Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020)
Treasury clears up Trump's payroll tax order. Just kidding! (Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020)
IRS approves e-signatures for 10 tax forms, temporarily (Friday, Aug. 28, 2020)
Tax injured spouses to get catch-up COVID-19 payments (Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020)
IRS waives some bad check charges (Monday, Aug. 24, 2020)
COVID-created tax refund interest payments going to nearly 14 million filers (Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020)
IRS stops sending nonpayment tax notices until it clears COVID snail mail backlog (Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020)
W&M chair to IRS: Stop sending COVID-delayed notices (Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020)
IRS knows some recently issued nonpayment notices are wrong. Now what? (Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020)
Get government benefits? Have kids? You get one more chance to claim added COVID cash (Friday, Aug. 14, 2020)
IRS now sending some erroneously denied COVID-19 dependent relief payments (Monday, Aug. 10, 2020)
Trump COVID executive actions sidestep stalled Congressional relief talks (Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020)
Home office tax deduction still available, just not for COVID-displaced employees working from home (Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020)
4 August tax moves to make during pandemic Dog Days (Monday, Aug. 3, 2020)

There also are some posts since the beginning of the pandemic that tangentially reference COVID-19's effects on taxes, but not enough so to make the official coronavirus cut for inclusion on this page.

If you're interested in seeing those, you can browse the new Coronavirus COVID-19 category. The posts above (as well as those on the other coronavirus pages) will show up, too, but just keep scrolling to find others that didn't make this coronavirus tax specific list.

Now to other off-blog resources.

First, there are the official government sites. The image above recommends Coronavirus.gov, which basically is a landing page (like this), so below are my suggestions.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS): Coronavirus Tax Relief and Economic Impact Payments

Treasury: How the Treasury Department is Taking Action

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Social Security Administration (SSA): Social Security & Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

Federal Trade Commission (FTC): Coronavirus - What the FTC is Doing

Health and Human Services (HHS): COVID-19 Portal

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): A guide to COVID-19 economic stimulus relief

Department of Education (Ed): COVID-19 ("Coronavirus") Information and Resources for Schools and School Personnel

Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Frequently Asked Questions

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response (note the rumor control section)

U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS): Coronavirus/COVID-19 Related Scams

USA.gov: Government Response to Coronavirus, COVID-19

And, of course, there are other sites following the pandemic's tax effects.

Many of my fellow tax bloggers are doing great jobs tracking the intricacies of COVID-19 tax changes. So are the members of the great #TaxTwitter community.

But in order to keep this page from following the excessive pieces of coronavirus legislation when it comes to length, I've focused below on web pages posted by professional firms, associations and other taxcentric entities that are providing valuable coronavirus-related tax information and advice.

National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP): COVID-19 Tax News & FAQ

American Institute of CPAs (AICPA): Coronavirus (COVID-19) tax resources (n.b., the state tax roundup)

Thomson Reuters: COVID-19 resource center

Wolters Kluwer: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources for Tax & Accounting Professionals

KPMG: Coronavirus (COVID-19) tax developments

Deloitte: COVID-19 tax policy updates

EY US: Responding to COVID-19

Grant Thornton: COVID-19 Resource Center

RubinBrown: Coronavirus Preparedness Resource Center

EideBailly: The New Coronavirus (COVID-19) Organiational & Individual Impacts

Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP): COVID-19 Tax Policy Resources

The Tax Foundation: Tax Policy And The Coronavirus (note the state-by-state legislative and global country-by-country fiscal measures trackers)

Avalara: COVID-19 Tax Relief Roundup

Employee Benefit News (EBN): Coronavirus Impact

But wait, there are more: Naturally, things will change as the virus itself and our tax reactions to it evolve, so I'm asking for your help.

I know I've missed some good sites. Please let me know. I'll probably see your suggestions sooner if you let me know via Twitter where, in case you don't know, I'm @taxtweet. You also can drop me an email note.

I'll update this page as regularly as I can. You'd think that I'd have more time by essentially being on house arrest during Austin's coronavirus stay-home order, but it seems that the hours in the days also are affected by these bizarre circumstances (and my discovery of new things to stream).

Thanks for your assistance and patience. And, of course, be safe!

Taxes are important, but they are just taxes. The well-being of everyone and your families is everything, the only thing.

Original post began April 4, 2020

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Today's Tax Tip

Child Tax Credit online filing portal is open again — An online portal that allowed nonfilers to claim Advance Child Tax Credit amounts is back. These families now can use GetCTC to get the remainder of 2021's enhanced tax break. (May 14, 2022)
The 2022 Tax Tips offer ways to file your annual return, along with post-filing advice, important tax news and, of course, ways to cut your current tax year bill. You'll find the monthly assemblages on their own respective pages: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December. Remember, tax tasks and tips don't stop after you file your annual return!

COVID-19 & Taxes

Coronavirus has wreaked havoc
on the 2020 and 2021 tax seasons.
These three Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Taxes pages have details:
March-July 2020,
August-December 2020,
January-December 2021, and
January-… 2022
You can find medical coronavirus resource links further down this column.

All About Kay

OK, some about Kay

Kay Bell — Native Texan (the blog title totally makes sense now, right?). Professional journalist. Tax geek.

My Other Accounts

*************

Tick ... Tick ... Tick

Tax Season 2022 continues!

Tax Day 2022 is finally over … unless you're one of the millions who have more time to file — looking at you taxpayers abroad and those in major disaster areas — or you got an extension to file your 2021 tax year return. That's fine. In fact, the Internal Revenue Service appreciates some of us spreading out our filings, especially when we and the agency still are dealing with all the complications of COVID-19 and taxes.

That's why the ol' blog's focus now is on all y'all still working on returns. But I haven't forgotten my organized taxpayer readers, who are already looking for ways to reduce their 2022 tax year bills. Yep, that amount is adding up, but there are moves you can make. The monthly tips and reminders a little further down this column can help everyone, regardless of which tax year you're working on.

Those on extension should keep a keen eye on the countdown clock below. It will help you track the days tick, tick, ticking off toward that absolutely final fall filing due date of Oct. 17. Yep, it's a few days later this year.
Note: I'm in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.

Time for Tax Tasks

May has arrived!
That exclamation mark is sincere and deserved. You've got to love a month that starts with a celebration.

May Pole Dance via GIPHY

After the May Day dances are done, the commemorative days just keep coming. There are well-known ones, like Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day, and Memorial Day, as well as some more obscure ones, like Visit Your Relatives Day, National Smile Day, and my favorite, Eat What You Want Day.

But even with all these (and more!) celebrations, there's still time to make some money-saving May tax moves. Let's get to it!

May 1: While May Day isn't a big holiday in the United States, globally the first day of May is a time for celebrating workers' contributions. But that can apply here, too, in connection with some employment-related tax tasks. If you got a big refund or owed more tax than you expected when you filed (or got an extension) last month, today's the perfect time to do paycheck check-up to determine how you should adjust your withholding.

May 5: ¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Fiestas are back this year, as more of us have been taken advantage of COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters. Still, be careful out there celebrating this Mexican holiday (and no, it's NOT Mexican Independence Day) that tends to spur more festivities here north of the border. Party responsibly, both when it come to the lingering pandemic and imbibing your favorite adult beverage, likely a margarita, which included the cost of state and federal alcohol taxes. Your state tax collector also will raise a glass to your fiscal contribution, since during the pandemic, sin taxes were a revenue bright spot for many states.

May 8: Happy Mother's Day!

If you're just this year making up for pandemic paused family visits, give your mom a longer hug on her special day. Love, flowers, and the best of health and happiness to every mother, from the new ones just discovering the joys, tax and otherwise, of new parenthood to those gracefully maneuvering their Golden Years while getting some tax-advantaged help from their families.

May 10: Eateries are still recovering from the challenges of operating during a national health crisis. Restaurants closed, then opened, then closed again. Others relied on and have stuck with take-out and deliveries. Whether you're dining in or still getting food brought to your house, remember to tip your server or delivery person.

If a tip isn't included in your food delivery charge, click the image above to calculate how much to tip the person who brought it to you.

As for servers who now are back on the job, remember that your tips are taxable income. If you worked at least some of March at a job where you got gratuities, you need to account for them today if they came to at least $20 last month. Use Form 4070 to report your tips today to your employer.

May 16: Before the seasonal shift into summer, take care of spring tax cleaning. Give away clothing and household goods you no longer use. Your philanthropy could provide you a charitable tax deduction.

May 23: Kick spring cleaning up a notch. Go beyond housekeeping and house clearing and make those home repairs you've been putting off. Many home improvements, including landscaping, could pay off in by increasing your home's basis, which means your profit for tax purposes will be smaller and stay under the amount that's tax-free when you eventually sell your home.

May 27: If you're heading out early for the long Memorial Day weekend that traditionally kicks off summer, be sure to plan for added costs, like the price of getting to your holiday destination. Most of us will hit the highways, so even though gasoline prices have come down a bit, they still will take a bite of our travel budgets. Sorry, it's not enough to get Congress to create a federal gas tax holiday. And if you're renting your home to incoming tourists, be sure to pay the state and/or local taxes added to short-term home rentals.

May 30: As you honor military personnel this Memorial Day who made the ultimate sacrifice, don't forget about their families. There are some tax considerations offered survivors of lost soldiers, sailors, and air crew.

Small Business Tax Calendar: Important filing, deposit and record keeping dates throughout the year that your company needs to know. You can get more tax calendar information at the IRS' online calendar page and view the full year's important business and individual tax dates in IRS Pub. 509.

State Tax Help

Don't forget your state taxes!
Forty-three states and D.C. collect personal income taxes. But even if you live in of the seven states without an income levy, you still face other state (and local) taxes.

State Tax Departments provides links to your state's Web page. The companion page, Tax Tidbits, is the compilation of blurbs about each state's tax laws. And for more state tax news, check out all our state tax bloggings.

Tax Forms

Thanks to our increased use of tax preparers and computer software, many of us don't see our tax forms until we sign and file them. But knowing what's on these documents, either in paper or digital form, and why the IRS wants it is key to understanding our tax system. And knowledge definitely is power, especially when it comes to tax savings. Find this valuable information in the ol' blog's special Talking Tax Forms page.

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I gotta tell ya ...

AKA Disclaimer:
I am a professional journalist who has been covering tax issues since 1999.
I am not a professional tax preparer.
The content on Don't Mess With Taxes is my personal opinion based on my study and understanding of tax laws, policies and regulations. It is provided for your private, noncommercial, educational and informational purposes only. It is not a recommendation of any specific tax action(s) you should or should not take. Similarly, mentions of products or services are not endorsements. In other words, my ramblings on the ol' blog are free advice and you know what they say about getting what you pay for. That's why when it comes to filing your taxes, I urge you to get additional, professional, paid-for guidance from an accountant, Enrolled Agent or other qualified tax preparer who is familiar with your individual tax circumstances.

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May 2022

Tell it to the Hill

While it's easy to rail at the IRS, for the most part we can thank — or blame — our tax laws on Congress and the White House. So if you have an issue with tax legislation or want a tax bill passed, you need to let your federal legislators and the White House occupant know of your concerns. You can find out who in Washington, D.C., to contact (and how), as well as get information on your local lawmakers for matters, tax or otherwise, closer to home, at USA Gov.

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