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Law360 (April 24, 2020, 1:38 PM EDT )
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| Jessica Hough |
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| Carl Erdmann |
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| Paige Braddy |
State Conformity With the CARES Act
The federal government enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act on March 27 in response to the pandemic. The act included numerous key tax relief provisions intended to ease the financial burden on many companies affected by COVID-19. However, the act raises questions regarding whether states will conform to federal changes that could impact state tax liability and reporting.
Of particular importance are the CARES Act provisions related to net operating loss, or NOL, carrybacks and interest deductibility limitations under Section 163(j).[1]
Under the new law, taxpayers are generally permitted to carry back NOLs arising in taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2017, and before Jan. 1, 2021, for up to five years. As of today, a majority of states do not permit taxpayers to carry back NOLs. For those states that do, conformity with the new federal NOL provisions will generally require an act of a state's legislature since most states do not automatically conform with the federal NOL provisions.
Section 163(j), which was put into place through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, sharply limits the ability of businesses to deduct interest payments when calculating their taxable income. Under the limitation, a taxpayer's allowable deduction for interest expense in a particular tax year generally is limited to the sum of 30% of adjusted taxable income plus its business interest income, with any excess carried forward to future years.
The CARES Act temporarily increases, for tax years beginning in 2019 or 2020, the threshold from 30% to 50%. Whether those states that conform to Section 163(j) will adopt the changes made by the CARES Act remains to be seen, though. Because federal taxable income is the starting point for most states in the calculation of state income tax, many states likely will automatically adopt the modifications to Section 163(j), unless a state legislature enacts legislation expressly decoupling from the CARES Act modifications.
New York is the first, and currently the only, state to decouple from this CARES Act provision. On April 3, the New York Legislature amended the New York tax law and administrative code to limit the deduction for business interest expenses to 30% of the adjusted taxable income on state and New York City returns. The law requires taxpayers to do so even if they elect the more generous 50% limit allowed for federal income taxes for 2019 and 2020 tax years.
Relatedly, at the time the TCJA was enacted, some states, such as Connecticut[2], Indiana[3] and Georgia[4], enacted legislation expressly decoupling from the TCJA Section 163(j) provisions. Therefore, in those jurisdictions, the CARES Act modifications to Section 163(j) are not likely to have any effect.
State Tax Impact of Telecommuting
In response to COVID-19, states across the country have issued stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders requiring the closure of nonessential businesses, encouraging many businesses to ask employees to work remotely. These work-from-home recommendations, although strongly encouraged by state and local governments, could potentially result in additional state tax exposure and withholding obligations for those businesses.
Nexus
State policymakers should consider whether the presence of remote workers will continue to qualify as a nexus creating activity for businesses during this time. To date, six taxing jurisdictions — New Jersey,[5] Mississippi,[6] Indiana,[7] North Dakota,[8] Minnesota[9] and the District of Columbia[10] — have issued formal guidance on this matter stating that remote work in response to COVID-19 will not be cited to trigger nexus. In addition, officials from Pennsylvania have informally indicated that remote workers will not create nexus for companies responding to COVID-19.
Apportionment
State policymakers should consider whether a change in employee location or company property in response to COVID-19 stay-at-home orders will be considered in state apportionment formulas. For those states that rely on property or payroll factors in their apportionment formula, an employee's change in location due to remote work or movement of company property could result in a change to the apportionment of business income. In addition, for those states that use the cost-of-performance method to determine sales sourcing, a change in the location of an employee's activities could similarly impact apportionment for those states.
Individual Residency
Not all individuals complying with stay-at-home orders are doing so in their state of tax residency. State policymakers should consider whether an individual's physical location for the duration of government stay-at-home orders should affect the individual's state residency status. The ability to work remotely means that some employees will choose or be forced to work from a location different than their existing tax residency. Those individuals should be mindful of the state's residency requirements and whether their time in the state will trigger any additional filing obligations.
Payroll Withholding
State policymakers should consider whether an individual's personal change in domicile for the duration of stay-at-home orders will affect employers' payroll tax withholding obligations. Because employees may choose to work from locations outside their home state, employers may be required to withhold additional payroll taxes in those states.
Credits and Incentives
Federal and state governments are rapidly working to establish programs or policies to assist businesses impacted by COVID-19.
Some struggling businesses already may have been participants in existing credit or incentive programs administered by state or local governments before the onset of COVID-19. In most cases, when a business opts to participate in a tax credit or incentive program, the business agrees to satisfy certain employment, investment or growth thresholds in exchange for tax credits or other tax incentives. When a business is unable to satisfy those requirements, it may become ineligible for future credits, and any prior credits may be subject to clawback claims.
State and local policymakers will need to consider whether they will strictly enforce program requirements and, if they do not, the appropriate criteria and process for amending them.
On April 15, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority granted some relief to businesses by extending the annual reporting deadlines for participants that received tax credits through the Grow New Jersey, Economic Redevelopment and Growth, and Urban Transit Hub programs.[11] The press release did not indicate whether participants would otherwise be relieved of satisfying program requirements.
Conclusion
The unprecedented and swift nature of the COVID-19 pandemic has created substantial uncertainty for taxpayers and businesses. Although some states have worked to quickly announce and implement guidance to aid taxpayers, and continue to do so, many have yet to act.
In some states, new tax guidance will require legislative action. To date, 22 states have postponed their legislative sessions, meaning for some taxpayers, any guidance will be delayed until lawmakers reconvene. Nonetheless, we expect that states will continue to provide relief, formally or informally, as states and taxpayers adapt to changing business conditions.
Jessica A. Hough is a partner, Carl R. Erdmann is counsel and Paige D. Braddy is an associate at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.
The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm, its clients or Portfolio Media Inc., or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.
[1] Unless otherwise specified, all section references herein are to sections of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
[2] 2018 Conn. Pub. Acts 18-49.
[3] 2018 Ind. Acts 1316(ss).
[4] 2019-2020 Ga. Laws 419.
[5] See here for New Jersey's guidance.
[6] See here for Mississippi's guidance.
[7] See here for Indiana's COVID-19 FAQs.
[8] See here for North Dakota's COVID-19 FAQs.
[9] See here for Minnesota's COVID-19 FAQs.
[10] Gov't of District of Columbia, OTR Tax Notice 2020-05, COVID-19 Franchise Tax Nexus (Apr. 20, 2020).
[11] See NJEDA Press Release here.
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