IRS won't accept pandemic as payroll tax excuse.

• Position: In The News ...

Don't expect to succeed in citing the pandemic as a "reasonable cause" defense for failing to pay your organization's payroll taxes. The first such effort fell flat with the IRS and a federal trial court. When a sole proprietorship failed to pay taxes from previous years, it cited COVID slowdowns this year. The court upheld the IRS' assessment. (U.S. v. Murdock)

Note: There is a...