Massachusetts 355 Corporate Excise Return, Schedules and Instructions

to achieve a different purpose from the prior version.

Major 2020 Tax Law Changes

Federal Conformity

Massachusetts generally follows the Internal Rev- enue Code (IRC) as currently in effect for Mass- achusetts corporate excise tax purposes. For more up-to-date and detailed information on tax changes and federal conformity please see the dedicated 2020 Tax Changes page on our website at www.mass.gov/dor.

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act

On March 27, 2020, Public Law 116-136, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act), was signed into law. The CARES Act provides for federal changes to a va- riety of provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) that affect business entities subject to the corporate and financial institution excise. In re- sponse to the CARES Act, the Department of Rev- enue (DOR) issued TIR 20-9: Massachusetts Tax Implications of Selected Provisions of the Federal CARES Act, which addresses various provisions that are specific to corporations and small busi- nesses including (1) small business loan forgive- ness, (2) modifications to the federal limitations on net operating losses, (3) modifications to lim- itation on business interest deduction, (4) techni- cal amendments regarding qualified improvement property, and (5) modification of limitation on charitable contributions during 2020. TIR 20-9 is available on DOR’s website.

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) also changed a variety of provisions of the IRC that affect busi- ness entities subject to the corporate and finan- cial institution excise. In response to the TCJA, DOR issued written guidance addressing the im- pact of the TCJA in Massachusetts. See e.g., TIR 19-17: Application of IRC § 163(j) Interest Ex- pense Limitation to Corporate Taxpayers, TIR 19- 11: Legislation Impacting the Massachusetts Tax Treatment of Selected International Provisions of the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, TIR 19-9: Ex- tension of Time to File Short-Year Returns Result- ing from Partnership Technical Termination, TIR 19-7: Massachusetts Treatment of Investments in Qualified Opportunity Zones, and TIR 19-6: Im- pact of the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on a Taxpayer’s Overall Method of Accounting for Massachusetts Purposes. All of these TIRs are available on DOR’s website.

Employees Working Remotely due to COVID-19: Massachusetts Tax Implications

Massachusetts declared a state of emergency and issued several health and safety related restric- tions in response to the 2019 novel Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic. As a result, many busi- nesses implemented work-from-home require- ments for their employees. DOR has provided Massachusetts tax relief in situations in which employees work remotely due solely to the COVID-19 pandemic to minimize disruption for corporations doing business in Massachusetts. See 830 CMR 62.5A.3: Massachusetts Source In- come of Non Residents Telecommuting due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and TIR 20-15: Revised Guidance on the Massachusetts Tax Implications of an Employee Working Remotely due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. These rules are effective until 90 days after the state of emergency in Massachusetts is lifted.

DOR will not consider the presence of one or more employees working remotely from Mass- achusetts solely due to a Pandemic-Related Cir- cumstance, including the presence of business property reasonably needed for such persons’ use while working remotely, to be sufficient in and of itself to establish corporate nexus and a corporate excise filing requirement. In addition, such presence will not, of itself, cause a corpora- tion to lose the protections of Public Law 86-272. Relatedly, for corporate apportionment purposes,

(i) services performed by such persons in Mass- achusetts will not increase the numerator of the employer’s payroll factor, and (ii) the presence in Massachusetts of business property reasonably needed for such persons’ use while working re- motely will not increase the numerator of the em- ployer’s property factor.

Filing Due Dates

Massachusetts General Laws (MGL) ch 62C, §§ 11 and 12 require C corporations to file their tax returns on or before the 15th day of the fourth month following the close of each taxable year (April 15 in the case of corporations filing on a calendar year basis). The filing due date for S cor- poration tax returns is the 15th day of the third month following the close of each taxable year. See TIR 17-5.

For most calendar year filers, returns are due April 15, 2021.