American Rescue Plan Act extends and expands federal tax credits available for coronavirus-related leave

SHRM recently published an article summarizing ARPA (the American Rescue Plan Act). In short, employers with fewer than 500 employees currently may but are not required by federal law (compare for example state laws such as in Colorado) to provide paid leave for certain coronavirus-related reasons and, if such an employer does chose to provide such leave, it may pass through costs to the federal government. Those rules expired first December 31, 2020, then were extended through March 31, 202. Now according to ARPA, the ability for an employer to pass-through covered costs has been extended through September 30, 2021. ARPA not only extends the period when costs can be passed through to the federal government, but expands the reasons for which such leave may be granted to, now, include time off to be vaccinated and time off while waiting for the results of an employer-mandated covid-19 test. Employers are encouraged to contact their tax professionals for further information.