IRS says COVID-19 related tax credits allowed for helping others get vaccinations

The IRS says in a frequently asked questions guidance document that employer tax credits for paid COVID-related leave can be used when an employee accompanies family members and others to get their vaccine shots.

Those employee leave credits reimburse eligible employers for providing paid sick and family leave for specific COVID-19-related reasons. The IRS guidance makes clear that includes leave taken by employees to accompany individuals to get their COVID-19 shots and to care for an individual recovering from any illness or condition connected to that immunization.

“Individual” means an immediate family member, someone who regularly resides in the employee’s home, or a person with whom the employee has a relationship that creates an expectation that the employee would care for the person.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act required small- and mid-sized employers to provide paid employee leave for COVID-19-related reasons through Dec. 31, 2020. Subsequent legislation extended the law’s tax credits for employers that continued to offer the leave voluntarily. The credits were in effect through Sept. 30, 2021.