American Rescue Plan Act 2021 Expands Unemployment Benefits

American Rescue Plan Act 2021 Expands Unemployment Benefits

by Tracey Martin, CPA

With the expected signing of legislation on March 12, 2021, American workers will again see an extension of federal unemployment insurance.  CARES Act federal benefits were set to expire March 14th.

Under Title IX: Crisis Support for Unemployed Workers, Subtitle A provides for the following changes in Unemployment Insurance (UI):

  • Extension to September 6, 2021 of all pandemic unemployment insurance programs set to expire on March 14, 2021, including Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC).
  • Expands state benefits to continue additional Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) of $300 per week through September 6, 2021.
  • Expands the state’s time period for receiving UI to include Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) for up to a total of 79 weeks.

In addition, the ARPA includes an amendment to make the first $10,200 of 2020 unemployment benefits not subject to federal income tax for those taxpayers with adjusted gross income of less than $150,000.  Taxpayers who received unemployment benefits and have already filed their 2020 tax returns will need to amend their 2020 tax returns to take advantage of this benefit.

We will continue to provide updates as they are released.  As always, if you find yourself in need of the above benefits or have questions about eligibility, reach out to your BRC advisor.

Tracey Martin-4970

Tracey Flynn Martin Partner, CPA

Tracey has over 30 years of experience as a CPA and is a tax and consulting partner in our Wilmington office. She applies her knowledge and practical ideas to meet the needs of firm clients from both a business and tax perspective. Tracey leads our Firm’s CAS service line (Client Accounting Solutions – a […]