How long did South Carolina extend its temporary COVID-19 remote-work nexus and employer-withholding relief in 2020?

Plain-English summary

SC Information Letter #20-24 extended South Carolina's temporary COVID-19 remote-work tax relief through December 31, 2020.

The Department had originally issued Information Letter 20-11 on May 15, 2020. According to this extension notice, that earlier letter addressed two issues caused solely by employees temporarily working from a different location because of COVID-19:

• Whether the temporary work location established income-tax or sales-tax nexus for the employer.
• The employer's income-tax withholding requirements for those employees.

The original relief ran from March 13 through September 30, 2020. Information Letter 20-24 changed only the end date, extending the same relief through December 31, 2020.

What this means for you

Employers with temporary remote workers in 2020

The Department did not end the special relief on September 30, 2020. The extension kept it in place for the rest of calendar year 2020.

Payroll and tax teams

Use Information Letter 20-11 for the actual nexus and withholding rules. Information Letter 20-24 is only the extension notice and does not repeat the conditions, limitations, or examples from the earlier guidance.

Current remote-work arrangements

This relief expired December 31, 2020. It does not establish a present-day nexus or withholding rule for remote employees.

Common questions

Q: What changed in Information Letter 20-24?

A: The end date. The Department extended the relief from September 30 through December 31, 2020.

Q: Did the notice create permanent remote-work nexus relief?

A: No. It states a temporary period ending December 31, 2020.

Q: Does this page contain the complete withholding rule?

A: No. The notice refers readers to Information Letter 20-11 for the full text and underlying relief.

Citations and references

• SC Information Letter 20-11 — the incorporated underlying nexus and withholding guidance, described in prose because IL 20-24 does not reproduce it
• S.C. Code Ann. § 12-4-320; § 1-23-10(4) — Department authority cited in the extension notice

Source

• Landing page: SC Advisory Opinion Search
• Original PDF: IL20-24.pdf

Original ruling text

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
300A Outlet Pointe Blvd., Columbia, South Carolina 29210 P.O. Box 125, Columbia, South Carolina 29214-0575

SC INFORMATION LETTER #20-24

SUBJECT:

Extended Tax Relief - Nexus and Income Tax Withholding Requirements for Employers with Workers Temporarily Working Remotely as a Result of COVID-19 (Income Tax and Sales Tax)

DATE:

August 26, 2020; Effective from March 13, 2020 – December 31, 2020

MODIFIES:

SC Information Letter #20-11

AUTHORITY:

S.C. Code Ann. Section 12-4-320 (2014)
S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-23-10(4) (2005)
SC Revenue Procedure #09-3

SCOPE:

An Information Letter is a written statement issued to the public to announce general information useful in complying with the laws administered by the Department. An Information Letter has no precedential value.

On May 15, 2020, the Department issued SC Information Letter #20-11 to announce temporary relief regarding a business’s establishment of nexus (income and sales) solely because an employee is temporarily working in a different work location due to COVID-19 and provided guidance with respect to employer withholding requirements for these employees. The relief was effective from March 13, 2020 through September 30, 2020. The Department is announcing that the relief set forth in SC Information Letter #20-11 is extended through December 31, 2020. The full text of SC Information Letter #20-11 and the relief provided can be found on the Department’s Law and Policy page at dor.sc.gov/policy.