IRS, Hill Give Businesses Differing Direction on Virus Tax Break (1)

New IRS FAQs provide conflicting guidance for taxpayers, deviating from a nonpartisan congressional committee’s interpretation of applying health care expenses toward a tax break for businesses who keep employees on their payroll during the coronavirus pandemic.

The agency answered more than 90 FAQs, giving businesses much of the clarity they need to proceed with claiming the employee retention credit worth up to $5,000 per employee. But one significant difference between the IRS guidance, which was updated Wednesday, and the Joint Committee on Taxation’s recent description of the benefit could complicate employers’ decision-making, especially since neither of the items ...