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- Home
- Professionals
- S. Michael Chittenden
Michael Chittenden practices in the areas of tax and employee benefits with a focus on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), information reporting (e.g., Forms 1095, 1096, 1098, 1099, W-2, 1042, and 1042-S) and withholding, payroll taxes, and fringe benefits. Mr. Chittenden advises companies on their obligations under FATCA and assists in the development of comprehensive FATCA and Chapter 3 (nonresident alien reporting and withholding) compliance programs.
Mr. Chittenden advises large employers on their employment tax obligations, including the special FICA and FUTA rules for nonqualified deferred compensation, the successor employer rules, the voluntary correction of employment tax mistakes, and the abatement of late deposit and information reporting penalties. In addition, he has also advised large insurance companies and employers on the Affordable Care Act reporting requirements in Sections 6055 and 6056, and advised clients on the application of section 6050W (Form 1099-K reporting), including its application to third-party payment networks.
Mr. Chittenden counsels clients on mobile workforce issues including state income tax withholding for mobile employees and expatriate and inpatriate taxation and reporting.
Mr. Chittenden is a frequent commentator on information withholding, payroll taxes, and fringe benefits and regularly gives presentations on the compliance burdens for companies.
- Advised a large multinational retailer on the development of a comprehensive Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 (FATCA) compliance program, registration of foreign financial institutions within its expanded affiliated group, and the application of FATCA regulations and intergovernmental agreements to entities and retirement plans located in several foreign countries.
- Advised several large insurance companies on Form 1095-B reporting, including TIN solicitation requirements, error correction, identification of the employer sponsoring a group health plan, association plan reporting, VEBA reporting, multiemployer plan reporting, and other aspects of the regulations, and drafted extensive comments for submission to and testified before the IRS and Treasury Department regarding the challenges faced by insurers in soliciting and reporting the TINs of covered individuals.
- Represented a large energy company in a multifaceted dispute with the IRS related to numerous alleged information reporting and withholding failures, including the imposition of intentional disregard penalties.
- Advised a large financial company on the proper tax treatment of more than 200 different types of earnings and deductions for federal income tax withholding, FICA taxes and Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) tax purposes, as well as state income tax withholding and state unemployment insurance tax treatment in more than 20 states and numerous counties, school districts and cities.
- Advised an auction service provider on the application of Section 6050W reporting to its business with a focus on whether it operates a third-party payment network.
- Advised large employers on Form 1095-C and Form 1094-C reporting, including issues related to self-insured coverage, multiemployer plan reporting, reporting for nonemployee directors, retirees, and part-time employees, and TIN solicitation requirements.
Memberships and Affiliations
- American Bar Association, Section of Taxation
- The District of Columbia Bar, Taxation Section
April 2, 2021, Covington Alert
On Thursday, April 1, 2021, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) released an advance notice of proposed rulemaking ("ANPR"), presenting the public with its first opportunity to comment on the beneficial ownership disclosure requirements in the Corporate Transparency Act ("CTA"), a key component of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 ("AMLA"). ...
American Rescue Plan Act Clarifies Scope of Form 1099-K Reporting and Reduces De Minimis Threshold
March 12, 2021, Tax Withholding & Reporting Blog
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “ARPA”) into law. The ARPA includes clarifying language regarding the scope of Form 1099-K (Payment Card and Third Party Network Transactions) reporting for third party payment networks and a change to the de minimis reporting standard applicable to third party...… Continue ...
March 11, 2021, Tax Withholding & Reporting Blog
Almost a year after the employee retention credit was adopted as part of the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), and nearly a month after the final Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, claiming the credit for 2020 was due, the IRS issued Notice 2021-20 (the “Notice”). This is the final...… Continue Reading
March 10, 2021, Tax Withholding & Reporting Blog
On March 10, 2021, the House passed the fifth major COVID-relief legislation, the American Rescue Plan Act (the “Act”), which it originally passed last week before its amendment and passage by the Senate on March 6. President Biden is expected to sign the Act on Friday, March 12, 2021. The Act adopts a new payroll...… Continue Reading
March 10, 2021, Tax Withholding & Reporting Blog
Almost a year after the employee retention credit was adopted as part of the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), and nearly a month after the final Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, claiming the credit for 2020 was due, the IRS issued Notice 2021-20 (the “Notice”), providing guidance on the...… Continue Reading
March 9, 2021, Tax Withholding & Reporting Blog
Recently released IRS Notice 2021-20 (the “Notice”) provides guidance on the interaction between the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and the employee retention credit. Unfortunately, the Notice may limit the ability of many PPP borrowers to claim an employee retention credit that employers may have believed they would be entitled to claim. Under the ...
March 9, 2021, Tax Withholding & Reporting Blog
Almost a year after the employee retention credit was adopted as part of the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), and nearly a month after the final Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, claiming the credit for 2020 was due, the IRS issued Notice 2021-20 (the “Notice”). This is the first...… Continue Reading
February 8, 2021, Tax Withholding & Reporting Blog
Recently released IRS Notice 2021-11, implements the extension of the period for collecting from employees and depositing employee Social Security tax that was deferred in the last four months of 2020. IRS Notice 2020-65 (see earlier coverage) had specified that the employer “must withhold and pay the total [deferred 2020 taxes] . . . ratably...… Continue ...
February 2, 2021, Tax Withholding & Reporting Blog
In Announcement 2021-2, released on February 1, the IRS instructed lenders not to report loan relief payments made by the Small Business Administration under Section 1112(c) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. The Announcement reflects a provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “CAA”), excluding such payments ...
January 29, 2021, Tax Withholding & Reporting Blog
As described in our previous post, on December 21, 2020, another round of COVID relief legislation was passed, providing an enhanced employee retention credit (“ERC”) with various new features and greater benefit amounts. The legislation was subsequently enacted when President Trump signed the law on December 27. On January 26, the IRS issued a news...… ...
January 8, 2021, Tax Withholding & Reporting Blog
On January 4, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2021-7 pertaining to the valuation of the personal use of employer-provided vehicles. The Notice permits employers who rely on the special valuation rule of Treasury Regulation § 1.61-21(d), known as the Automobile Lease Valuation (ALV) method, to retroactively apply the vehicle cents-per-mile ...
What You Can Do to Protect Your Dependent Care FSA Cash
December 11, 2020, The Wall Street Journal
Michael Chittenden is quoted in The Wall Street Journal regarding the options for excess FSA dependent-care spending. Mr. Chittenden says the best option is to find expenses to claim. There are strict limits on what expenses the IRS considers eligible, and employers and plan administrators don't have flexibility to alter the rules. Most importantly, expenses ...
December 2020, LexisNexis Practical Guidance
July/August 2020, Corporate Taxation
March 26, 2020, Covington Alert
Late last night, the Senate passed (96-0) the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security ("CARES") Act that was introduced by several Senate Republicans last Thursday. This follows a number of days of whirlwind negotiations, beginning with the Senate where, on Sunday night, a procedural vote failed to garner the 60 votes necessary to move the legislation ...
July 10, 2018, Covington Alert
For only the third time in the last fifty years, the Supreme Court has ruled on whether a state may compel a remote, out-of-state seller to collect and remit that state’s sales tax on purchases made by in-state customers.
- Washington, DC Super Lawyers, “Rising Star” Tax and Employee Benefits (2015-2017)
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