Overview of Tax Provisions Included in Senate Infrastructure Bill

Tax Provisions Included in HR 3864

On August 10, 2021, the United States Senate passed HR 3864, The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The bill now goes to the House for its consideration.

The bill contained very few tax provisions but did include the following:

EMPLOYEE RETENTION CREDIT

The Infrastructure bill would end the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) early. Wages paid after September 30, 2021, would no longer be eligible for the ERC.

The American Rescue Plan Act had made the ERC available for wages paid during the third and fourth quarters of 2021. The bill would repeal that extension.  Last week, the IRS issued guidance to employers for claiming the credit for the third and fourth quarters of 2021 (Notice 2021-49) but noted in that guidance that it was subject to legislative developments in the infrastructure bill.

CRYPTOASSET REPORTING

The bill would amend IRC sections 6045 and 6045A, to require brokers of digital assets, cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens for example, to issue Form 1099 information returns to any individual that transfers those digital assets to an account not maintained by that broker. A digital asset is defined in the bill as any digital representation of value which is recorded on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger or similar technology.

DISASTER RELIEF DEADLINE EXTENSION

The bill would modify the disaster relief provisions in the tax code to provide a longer 60-day extension of certain deadlines for taxpayers affected by a federally declared disaster. The extension for these taxpayers is 60-days from the later of the earliest event that caused the disaster or the date that a federal disaster declaration is issued.

OTHER TAX PROVISIONS CONTAINED IN HR 3864

The bill includes other tax provisions, including extension of various highway-related taxes, and extension and modification of certain superfund excise taxes. It also would allow private activity bonds for qualified broadband projects and carbon dioxide capture facilities.

Tax Provisions NOT Included in HR 3864

As mentioned above, the bill contained very few tax provisions and no tax increase provisions as promised by Senate leaders. Among the provisions not contained in the Bill are the following:

• Increase in individual income tax rates;
• Increase in individual income tax rates applicable to qualified dividends and long term capital gains;
• Increases in C corporation income tax rates;
• Increase in the taxable wage base for FICA taxes;
• Limitation in the ability to use the tax deferred exchange rules of Section 1031 to defer the tax on gain for qualified real estate exchanges.

However, the Senate Budget Committee, on August 9, 2021, released a memo that outlines more extensive tax changes that the committee members would like to see as part of fiscal year budget reconciliation bill. Many of the provisions mentioned above are included in that memorandum. Other provisions mentioned in the memorandum include:

• Extensions of the child tax credit, earned income credit and child and dependent care credit;
• Relief from the $10,000 cap on deductions for state and local taxes

Stay tuned for what promises to be an interesting Fall for changes in federal tax legislation.

Your Keiter Opportunity Advisors are closely monitoring proposed and new legislation. We will keep you informed on tax changes that may impact you and your business. Please contact us if you have any tax questions or need tax advice specific to your situation.