1 See, e.g., TIR-20-10: Revised Guidance on the Massachusetts Tax Implications of an Employee Working Remotely due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Mass. Dep’t of Rev., July 21, 2020; ADV 2020-24: Division Addresses Questions Involving Nexus and Apportionment, R.I. Dep’t of Rev., Div. of Tax., May 28, 2020; S.C. Info. Letter #20-11, S.C. Dep’t of Rev., May 15, 2020; S.C. Info. Letter #20-24, S.C. Dep’t of Rev., Aug. 26, 2020; Telecommuter COVID-19 Employer and Employee FAQ, N.J. Div. of Tax., May 27, 2020; Tele-Commuting and Corporate Nexus, N.J. Div. of Tax., Mar. 31, 2020.
2 See, e.g., COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions, Iowa Dep’t of Rev., May 15, 2020; Oregon COVID-19 Tax Relief Options, Ore. Dep’t of Rev., July 28, 2020; COVID-19 Tax Guidance, N.D. Office of State Tax Commissioner, Apr. 15, 2020; COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions for Tax Relief and Assistance, Cal. Franchise Tax Board, Sept. 11, 2020 (stating that California will not treat a corporation that had no previous connections with California as “doing business” when an employee is teleworking in California in response to the governor’s executive order); OTR Tax Notice 2020-05 COVID-19 Emergency Income and Franchise Tax Nexus, D.C. Office of Tax and Rev., Apr. 10, 2020.
3 See Frequently Asked Questions, Ky. Dep’t of Rev., July 16, 2020; see also Tax Alert 05-04-20, Comptroller of Md. (indicating that the Maryland Comptroller’s Office will continue to review and consider the specific facts and circumstances of each taxpayer in order to make a fair determination with respect to nexus and income sourcing, but will recognize the temporary nature of a taxpayer’s pandemic-related workplace changes, and generally will not use such temporary measures to impose business nexus, to alter the sourcing of business income or to impose additional withholding requirements).
4 Businesses should also consider how work-from-home policies may impact state income tax apportionment calculations, especially in states that apportion based on a payroll factor. Certain states have indicated that an employee’s working at home as a result of the pandemic will not affect the employer’s apportionment calculation. See, e.g., Ala. Dep’t of Rev. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates, Ala. Dep’t of Rev., May 12, 2020 (indicating temporary telework requirements due to the pandemic will not alter apportionment of income); TIR-20-10: Revised Guidance on the Massachusetts Tax Implications of an Employee Working Remotely due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Mass. Dep’t of Rev., July 21, 2020 (indicating that, for apportionment purposes, services performed by an employee working remotely in Massachusetts solely as a result of the pandemic will not increase the employer’s payroll factor and the presence in Massachusetts of business property reasonably needed for such employee’s use while working remotely will not increase the employer’s property factor).
5 See, e.g., Telecommuter COVID-19 Employer and Employee FAQ, N.J. Div. of Tax., May 27, 2020 (indicating that wage income will continue to be sourced as determined by the employer in accordance with the employer’s jurisdiction during the temporary period of the COVID-19 pandemic even though typically income is sourced based on where the service or employment is performed); TIR-20-10: Revised Guidance on the Massachusetts Tax Implications of an Employee Working Remotely due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Mass. Dep’t of Rev., July 21, 2020 (indicating that all compensation received for services performed by a nonresident who, immediately prior to the Massachusetts COVID-19 state of emergency was an employee engaged in performing such services and who began performing services from a location outside Massachusetts due to a pandemic-related circumstance, will continue to be treated as Massachusetts source income subject to personal income tax withholding).
6 See, e.g., COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions, Iowa Dep’t of Rev., May 15, 2020; COVID-19 Tax Relief; Frequently Asked Questions, Ky. Dep’t of Rev., July 16, 2020.
7 See, e.g., Coronavirus Tax Relief FAQs, Ga. Dep’t of Rev., May 6, 2020.
8 See, e.g., S.C. Info. Letter #20-11, S.C. Dep’t of Rev., May 15, 2020; see also S.C. Info. Letter #20-24, S.C. Dep’t of Rev., Aug. 26, 2020 (indicating initially that such relief was applicable from 13 March 2020 through 20 September 2020 but extending the relief until 31 December 2020); COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions for Tax Relief and Assistance, Cal. Franchise Tax Board, Sept. 11, 2020 (indicating that relief is applicable until the govenor’s Executive Order N-33-20 is no longer in effect).
9 See TIR-20-10: Revised Guidance on the Massachusetts Tax Implications of an Employee Working Remotely due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Mass. Dep’t of Rev., July 21, 2020.
10 See, e.g., Ala Dep’t of Rev. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates, Ala. Dep’t of Rev., May 12, 2020.
11 See Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2019, S. 604, 116th Cong. (1st Sess. 2019); see also Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2019, H.R. 4796, 116th Cong. (1st Sess. 2019). Bills that address remote working in the Second Session include (i) Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2020, H.R. 5674, 116th Cong. (2d Sess. 2020); (ii) Remote and Mobile Worker Relief Act of 2020, S. 3995, 116th Cong. (2d Sess. 2020); (iii) Remote Worker Relief Act of 2020, H.R. 8056, 116th Cong. (2d Sess. 2020); and (iv) American Workers, Families, and Employers Assistance Act, S. 4318, 116th Cong. § 403 (2d Sess. 2020).
12 See S. 604, 116th Cong. § 2 (1st Sess. 2019).
13 See id.
14 See S. 3995, 116th Cong. (2d Sess. 2020). This bill’s original co-sponsors include Republican Senator John Thune and Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown.
15 See id. at § 3.
16 See id.
17 See id.