On Wednesday, President Biden announced that the federal government will be providing a paid leave tax credit to help businesses compensate employees for time off needed to get the coronavirus vaccination and to recover from its aftereffects. More than 200 million shots have been given so far, the president said.
The paid leave tax credit will offset the cost for businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 500 employees for up to 80 hours, and up to $511 per day, of paid sick leave offered between April 1 and September 30, 2021. This tax credit will apply to nearly half of all private sector employees in America. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released and posted a fact sheet to educate employers on how to claim the paid sick leave credit on their quarterly tax filings.
For more details on how the paid leave tax credits from the American Rescue Plan will work for employers, consult this snapshot from the Department of the Treasury.
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), signed into law on March 11, also contains many COVID-19 relief and stimulus measures, including a tax credit that enables employers with fewer than 500 employees to claim up to $17,110 for 14 weeks of paid leave for each impacted employee not only to get vaccinated, but also to take time off if they have COVID-19 symptoms and are going to the doctor; are getting tested for COVID-19; are under quarantine or isolation order by the government or a doctor, or are caring for someone who is; or to care for a child whose school or child care provider closed, due to COVID-19.
