The Internal Revenue Service has issued Notice 2020-65 to provide guidance on the employment tax deferral that is the subject of President Donald Trump’s August 8, 2020, Memorandum on Deferring Payroll Tax Obligations in Light of the Ongoing COVID-19 Disaster.

Pursuant to the Notice, the due date for the withholding and payment of the employee share of Social Security taxes on certain wages is postponed until the period beginning on January 1, 2021, and ending on April 30, 2021. While the Notice provides additional details as to how to determine which wages are subject to the deferral and when the deferred taxes must be repaid, it leaves many questions unanswered and creates potential liability for employers.   More…

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Photo of Melissa Ostrower Melissa Ostrower

Melissa Ostrower is a principal in the New York City, New York, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and co-leader of the firm’s Employee Benefits practice group. She counsels clients in a broad range of employee benefit matters, including general compliance and administration of…

Melissa Ostrower is a principal in the New York City, New York, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and co-leader of the firm’s Employee Benefits practice group. She counsels clients in a broad range of employee benefit matters, including general compliance and administration of qualified retirement plans and nonqualified retirement plans.

Melissa assists clients with welfare plan issues involving cafeteria plans, health plans, flexible spending accounts, COBRA and the Affordable Care Act. She regularly speaks on all benefits issues including federal health care reform, fiduciary compliance and executive compensation.

Melissa regularly advises on executive compensation matters, including issues related to compliance with Section 409A, 162(m) and 280G of the Internal Revenue Code.

Melissa represents clients in connection with Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor audits and information requests. She also regularly assists clients in fixing plan operational and document errors. Melissa negotiates with benefits providers, volume submitter and prototype vendors, TPAs, insurers and auditors.

Melissa also advises clients in connection with phantom and equity based compensation arrangements.

Photo of Robert R. Perry Robert R. Perry

Robert R. Perry is a principal in the New York City, New York, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has more than 20 years of experience in the area of employee benefits law.

Rob’s practice includes counseling clients on all aspects of employee…

Robert R. Perry is a principal in the New York City, New York, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has more than 20 years of experience in the area of employee benefits law.

Rob’s practice includes counseling clients on all aspects of employee benefits and executive compensation. Rob also advocates on behalf of clients in benefits-related disputes, as well as in administrative proceedings before the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Department of Labor and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.