The U.S has been met with unprecedented challenges during the Coronavirus pandemic. Over the course of 2020 and 2021, three major spending bills were enacted into law that were meant to provide aid to individuals, companies, and industries that were affected by the various changes and restrictions onset by the Coronavirus pandemic. Those bills were the American Rescue Plan Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, and the CARES Act. This course will provide an overview of these three bills that were meant to address the hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic. This course will also provide a detailed look into the latest bill enacted from the three, the American Rescue Plan Act, and how that bill has affected the wider tax landscape within the U.S.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify the amount provided via direct deposit for individuals
• Distinguish the FPUC benefit amount
• Identify the age of eligibility for the childless Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
• Identify the increase maximum amount for Child Tax Credit
• Identify the amount of funding allocated to various programs within the Consolidated Appropriations Act.
• Identify which Division of the Consolidated Appropriations Act is meant to help which industries and individuals.
• Identify the amount of funding allocated for the various programs within the CARES Act including the Paycheck Protection Program
• Determine what the different provisions under the CARES Act are designed to perform
• Identify the maximum amounts of taxpayer income before being phased out of rebates
• Determine the maximum amount of employees an employer may have before losing employee retention credit capabilities

CPE Credit: 10 CPE for CPAs and EAs

Level: Intermediate

Instructional Method: Self-Study

NASBA Field of Study: Taxes

Program Prerequisites: Basic understanding of federal tax code.

Advanced Preparation: None