The latest round of COVID-19 relief includes several tax changes and is expected to be enacted this month (March). Key changes include a third round of economic impact payments and increases to the child, dependent and earned income tax credits. Additional changes address health care and the employee retention credit.
Publication Date: March 2021
Designed For
Practitioners who want to consider the effect of the American Rescue Plan Act changes on 2021 estimated taxes and tax planning.
Topics Covered
- The size and eligibility rules for the 2021 recovery rebates for individuals
- Unemployment Compensation Exclusion
- 2021 Recovery Credit/Economic Impact Payments
- Improvements to the Premium Tax Credit: Relevant to 2020 tax returns!
- Changes to Family and Low”Income Credits and Exclusions
- Employment and SE Tax Credits
- Health Insurance Changes
- Additional Changes with Tax Relevance
- Next Steps
Learning Objectives
- Identify 2021 law changes of the American Rescue Plan and the relevance to compliance and planning
- Identify who is eligible for the 2021 recovery credit
- Recognize how to explain key tax benefits of the American Rescue Plan and their effective dates
- Identify the approximate total of all COVID-19 legislative actions
- Describe the exclusion for unemployment compensation amount as a special rule in 2020
- Identify the maximum EIP3 amount per qualifying dependent
Level
Update
Instructional Method
Self-Study
NASBA Field of Study
Taxes (1 hour)
Program Prerequisites
Basic understanding of tax preparation.
Advance Preparation
None
Instructor
Annette Nellen
Annette Nellen, CPA, CGMA, Esq., is a professor in and director of San Jose State University's graduate tax program (MST), teaching courses in tax research, accounting methods, property transactions, advanced individual taxation, employment tax, ethics, leadership, and tax policy.
Annette chairs the AICPA Digital Assets Tax Task Force and serves on the AICPA Disaster Relief Tax Task Force. She formerly served on the AICPA Tax Executive Committee, including 2.5 years as chair. She was the lead author of the AICPA tax policy concept statement #1, Guiding Principles of Good Tax Policy: A Framework for Evaluating Tax Proposals (2001, updated 2017), still in use today. Annette is also active with the tax sections of the ABA, CalCPA and California Lawyers Association. Annette is the recipient of the 2013 Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award given by the Tax Division of the AICPA, the highest award given by the accounting profession in the area of taxation. In 2019, Annette was the recipient of the CLA’s Benjamin F. Miller Award for outstanding achievement and contribution in the field of state and local taxation law. Annette was included in Accounting Today's 2024 List of the Most Influential People in Accounting.
Annette is a regular contributor to Tax Notes State, authoring a column called Moving Forward? She is the author of Bloomberg BNA Tax Portfolio #533, Amortization of Intangibles. She is co-author and co-editor of four tax textbooks from Cengage. Annette has testified before the House Ways & Means Committee, Senate Finance Committee, California Assembly Revenue & Taxation Committee, and tax reform commissions and committees on various aspects of federal and state tax reform. She maintains the 21st Century Taxation website and blog (www.21stcenturytaxation.com). Prior to joining SJSU in 1990, Annette was with Ernst & Young and the IRS.