SALT Blog - SALT Blawg

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue (“Department”) released an article discussing the deduction of home office expenses.  Since many residents are working from home due to the pandemic, it may be tempting to claim such deductions – yet, taxpayers should be aware of the potential ramifications of claiming home office deductions.

In order to qualify to take a home office deduction, a taxpayer must work through a three-part analysis.  First, the taxpayer’s employer must either not provide a suitable work area, or the taxpayer must be prohibited from reporting to work due to ...

Philadelphia applies the “requirement of employment” test in order to determine whether a non-resident’s base of operations is the employer’s Philadelphia location. If a Philadelphia employer requires a non-resident employee to perform duties outside of Philadelphia (including working from home), that employee is exempt from the Wage Tax for those days spent fulfilling that requirement.  However, if a non-resident works from home for his or her own convenience, that employee is not exempt from the Wage Tax, even if the Philadelphia employer authorizes the work from ...

The City of Philadelphia Department of Revenue issued Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) regarding its Wage Tax policies in light of COVID-19.  Philadelphia applies the “requirement of employment” test in order to determine whether a non-resident’s base of operations is the employer’s Philadelphia location. If a Philadelphia employer requires a non-resident employee to perform duties outside of Philadelphia (including working from home), that employee is exempt from the Wage Tax for those days spent fulfilling that requirement.  However, if a non-resident ...

Pennsylvania

Earlier this year, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue issued temporary guidance regarding telework during COVID-19 and the related tax implications thereof.  The Department has now issued an end date to its temporary policies: guidance issued by the Department is in effect until the earlier of June 30, 2021 or 90 days after the Proclamation of Disaster Emergency in Pennsylvania is lifted.

Ordinarily, the presence of employees working temporarily from home within Pennsylvania is sufficient to establish nexus for out-of-state businesses for purposes of the ...

In response to various issues created by COVID-19, the Philadelphia Department of Revenue (“Department”) has issued guidance to taxpayers related to the City’s Wage Tax, Use & Occupancy (“U&O”) Tax, and Business Income & Receipts Tax (“BIRT”).Wage Tax

On November 5, 2020, the Department issued revised guidance regarding Wage Tax withholding requirements for Philadelphia-based employers.  This is not a change in position; the guidance serves to explain the City’s policy that was in effect pre-COVID.  The guidance explains that Philadelphia applies the ...

During July, the Commonwealth Court handed down its decision in Synthes v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 108 FR 2016, which was a closely watched case dealing with differing interpretations of Pennsylvania’s costs of performance (“COP”) statute.  Prior to 2014, the statute required services to be sourced to the location of the “income-producing activity.”  Where the income-producing activity occurred both within and without Pennsylvania, receipts were required to be sourced to the state where the greater proportion of income-producing activities occurred, based ...

The City of Philadelphia has responded to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, 585 US. ___ (2018), amending its Business Income and Receipts Tax (“BIRT”) regulations to impose economic nexus.  The City’s BIRT is imposed annually upon every person engaging in any business in the City; it is a privilege tax, taxing the “privilege” of doing business in Philadelphia. [Phila. Code §19-2603].

The BIRT has two components: a net income component and a gross receipts component.  Prior to 1998, both portions of the BIRT were subject to the solicitation ...

The Philadelphia Department of Revenue (“DOR”) has issued two new forms of guidance addressing issues raised by the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“TCJA”).  First, on January 16, the DOR issued an Advisory Notice regarding the deductibility of employee business expenses in light of the TCJA.  For tax years 2018 through 2025, the TCJA eliminates most miscellaneous itemized deductions for individuals, including deductions for employee business expenses.  Further, moving expenses are no longer deductible for federal income tax purposes for those tax years.  In ...

Effective July 1, 2019, amendments have been made to Section 202 of the Business Income and Receipts Tax (“BIRT”) Regulation, which will have an effect on taxpayers starting business activity within Philadelphia during calendar year 2019 and thereafter. 

Previously – and still in effect for those taxpayers that commenced business during tax years 2018 and prior – a new business was required to not only pay the tax due for the first year of operation, but also make a 100% estimated tax payment in the amount of the first year tax liability.

The Amendments now allow taxpayers some ...

On January 9, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt, No. 17-1299.  A copy of the oral argument transcript can be accessed here.

In Hyatt, the Supreme Court is again revisiting the question of whether one state can be sued in another state’s courts.  The Hyatt litigation has been ongoing for two decades and has been before the U.S. Supreme Court on two previous occasions.  The case involves damages sought by Gilbert P. Hyatt for several torts allegedly committed by the Franchise Tax Board of California (“FTB”) in its ...