Our colleagues at NCSHA have been in discussions with the Internal Revenue Service concerning regulatory issues affecting the affordable housing industry stemming from the COVID19 crisis. Below is some good news they received which we are passing along to you. We continue to work on these and other issues and will keep you informed as they progress.

NCSHA spoke with senior IRS Chief Counsel officials today about our request for deadline extensions and other accommodations for the Housing Credit in light of the severe disruption the COVID-19 pandemic is having on development and ongoing operations of Credit properties. Following is a summary of key points from this discussion:

• IRS agrees that the ten issues for which we requested specific guidance in our letter are all relevant to the current situation and under active consideration by IRS. They are waiting to hear from Treasury about how to proceed, and could not comment yet on what form such guidance might take.
• They also agree with our suggestion that IRS should promulgate COVID-19 specific guidance, as opposed to relying on existing disaster relief guidance provided by IRS Revenue Procedure 2014-49 and 2014-50. While these revenue procedures provide the ability to extend the statutory deadlines for the 10 percent test and placed in service dates, and to waive certain physical inspection requirements of IRS compliance monitoring regulations, they do not address several other issues outlined in our letter.

While we wait for COVID-19 specific guidance, we made the case for applying relevant provisions of IRS Revenue Procedures 2014-49 and 2014-50 on an immediate basis. IRS agreed with this approach, indicating that the 27 jurisdictions that have received major disaster declaration for the COVID-19 pandemic can move forward with the relief outlined in the revenue procedures. They did not indicate that states needed to wait for FEMA to issue individual or public assistance amounts in conjunction with the major disaster declarations, but cautioned that states need to be aware of the specific counties to which the disaster declaration applies if it is not statewide. The 27 jurisdictions represent 74 percent of the total US population, and we expect that additional major disaster declarations will be forthcoming.

Of course, a number of our suggestions are beyond the scope of IRS Revenue Procedures 2014-49 and 2014-50, and we will continue to work with IRS and Treasury to expedite publication of additional guidance specific to COVID-19. Please contact Jennifer Schwartz or Jim Tassos with any questions.

Tidwell Group Releases Special COVID-19 Federal Update

The Tidwell Group (HAG member) continues to monitor the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on its clients and is analyzing daily information coming from Federal, State, and Local governments. The Group is providing a summary of the federal and legislative and regulatory updates. Here’s the latest update.

IRS released final Form 7200 and Instructions “Advance Payment of Employer Credits Due to COVID-19

Click to access the form instructions and Form 7200.

Treasury and IRS Release FAQs to Help Small and Midsize Businesses Navigate Paid Sick and Family Leave Tax Credits

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service are offering small and mid-size employers more information on refundable tax credits that reimburse them, dollar-for-dollar, for the cost of providing their employees paid sick and family leave wages related to COVID-19. Read information on small and mid-size business tax credits for paid sick and family leave.