Posts Tagged ‘national emergency’

COVID-19 Update: Qualified Disaster Relief Payments

access_time Posted on: May 5th, 2020

COVID-19 Update: Qualified Disaster Relief Payments Employers may pay or reimburse employees for necessary or reasonable expenses incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These disaster relief payments can be made tax-free. This article will provide information on taxation, amount, use, and substantiation of these payments. Typically, employers are taxed for all money that they give to their employees; however, the Internal Revenue Code (Section 139) specifies an exception for “qualified disaster relief payments” paid when there is a federally declared disaster. The COVID-19 pandemic officially qualified when the President declared a “national emergency” on March 13, 2020. Disaster… read more »