The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today issued Notice 2020-22, which waives penalties for failing to deposit taxes for employers required to pay qualified sick and family leave wages as required by the recently enacted Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA, P.L. 116-127) and qualified health plan expenses allocated to those wages.

The guidance also waives penalties for employers subject to full or limited closures and those facing a "statutorily specified decline in business under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act)," the IRS notes.

The IRS explains that today's guidance "applies to deposits of Employment Taxes (including withheld income taxes, taxes under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act and taxes under the Railroad Retirement Act) reduced in anticipation of the credits with respect to qualified sick leave wages and qualified family leave wages paid with respect to the period beginning April 1, 2020, and ending December 31, 2020." It also applies "with respect to deposits of Employment Taxes reduced in anticipation of the credits with respect to qualified wages paid with respect to the period beginning on March 13, 2020, and ending December 31, 2020."

The eight-page text of Notice 2020-22 is posted here.

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