Unemployment and self employed sick leave credit

[jellybean126]

I am self employed and received PUA - Pandemic unemployment during 2020. Can I ALSO claim the self employed sick leave, and the self employed family leave credit? 

[AlanT222]

Yes, you can claim both credits, however, it may be limited.

The FFCRA provides two self-employed tax credits to help cover the cost of taking time off due to COVID-19. While most of the text in these laws apply to businesses with employees, it also applies to self-employed individuals.

The tax credit for paid sick leave applies to eligible self-employed taxpayers who are unable to work (including telework or working remotely) due to:

1. Being subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order due to COVID-19.
2. Being advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19.
3. Experiencing COVID-19-related symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis.

If you meet all of the requirements, you would be eligible for qualified sick leave for each day during the year that you were unable to work for the above reasons (up to 10 days). The tax credit is worth the lesser of

• $511 per day or
• 100% of your average daily self-employment income for the year per day.

The only days that may be taken into account in determining the qualified sick leave equivalent amount are days occurring during the period beginning on April 1, 2020, and ending on December 31, 2020.

Under the expanded Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provision of the FFCRA, you would be eligible for qualified family leave for each day that you were unable to work because

• you were caring for someone else impacted by COVID-19 (up to 10 days), or
• your child's school or child care provider was closed or unavailable due to COVID-19 (up to 50 days).

You can claim a tax credit for the lesser of $200 per day or 67% of your average daily self-employment income for the year per day.

[jellybean126]

Thanks, it does not matter that I was also receiving Unemployment? 

[wgfpd154]

I received PUA and am also self employed and was offered the credit. You can chose to use the prior year's income to figure this if it is higher than your AGI for 2020, and full instructions can be found at the IRS site under the forms section.

However, we are still waiting to see if it will be able to be e-filed by Turbo Tax, so far it is only available to be mailed. I am still confused as to whether that means we need to mail the entire tax documents or if we can mail it separate and hope they can sift through all the mess it will create. They really do not want people sending paper filings, but with so many losing work last year and needing the credit, I am a little worried many will be mailing them.

[JoannaB2]

It depends.  If you're unemployment was used up, and you're still unemployed and been diagnosed with COVID-19, then maybe.  However, you may claim both qualified family leave wages and qualified sick leave but the qualified sick or family leave equivalent amounts are reduced by the qualified sick or family leave wages.

See. special issues for employees, for additional information.

Edited 2-4-2021 @ 6:29 PST

[AmeliesUncle]

It's a bit tricky, but possibly?  Technically if you claim Sick Leave or Family Leave, you should have reported that as income when applying for Unemployment, which likely made you not eligible for Unemployment.  If you claim the Sick Leave and/or Family Leave, you should contact your State on how to repay the  amount of Unemployment that you were not eligible for. 

From the US Department of Labor:

May I collect unemployment insurance benefits for time in which I receive pay for paid sick leave and/or expanded family and medical leave?

No. If your employer provides you paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave, you are not eligible for unemployment insurance. However, each State has its own unique set of rules; and DOL recently clarified additional flexibility to the States (UIPL 20-10) to extend partial unemployment benefits to workers whose hours or pay have been reduced. Therefore, individuals should contact their State workforce agency or State unemployment insurance office for specific questions about eligibility. 

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-questions#29

[bonnie_scherich]

I have the same question-- if I got PUA/Unemployment and/or PPP, can I still get this credit?  Turbo Tax doesn't seem to say I can't.

[JT1313]

Has anyone found a clear answer to the original question?

[DaveF1006]

Yes, please read AlanT222 response to the original question.

[earcon]

This still does not seem clear.  Maybe it needs to be asked this way: Can you receive PUA and the Sick Leave Credit for the same time period?  It does not seem to make sense that you would be able to, but there is nothing in the IRS instructions or guidance to tell you not to claim this.  And Turbotax allows you to make the claim.

[DaveF1006]

It depends.  Doesn't seem to be a clear cut IRS guidance on whether or not you can claim these at the same time period. As a precaution, I would say no to take a conservative position on your tax return.

[pumble]

I am still looking for a definitive answer on this and wish TurboTax would clarify and confirm that the software is asking the appropriate questions to determine if I am eligible for a credit and how much the credit should be.  TurboTax does not ask if I received PUA during the period I am requesting a sick leave credit.  The credit is substantial, and I want to believe that I am eligible as TurboTax is saying.  It is a lot to lose to be conservative in case the software is wrong.  Am wondering if I need to file an extension until a clear answer is offered?

[DawnC]

According to The Best Answer above, it appears that you do qualify for the credit, but you may owe back some unemployment to your state if you do claim the credit.   It would depend on your state though.   

TurboTax does not ask if you received PUA because it does not disqualify you from taking the credit.   However, if you do take the credit on your tax return, you may owe the state those payments back if taking the credit would have disqualified you from receiving the unemployment.    @pumble

It will never hurt anything to file the extension.   

[Amethyst_fairy]

I already filed and claimed about $630 in Self employed family leave credit but now they are giving us credit on unemployment income.  Still waiting to see what that means for us.  They say don't file addended return but I need to know what I actually owe in taxes. The person who asked about what to mail in for credit.  Yes had to mail in whole tax return.