Notice 2021-20 provides guidance on the employee retention credit provided under Section 2301 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, as amended by section 206 of the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (Relief Act), for qualified wages paid after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021. Notice 2021-20 largely incorporates the concepts previously set forth in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) posted on the IRS website. Notice 2021-20 also contains guidance related to changes made by the Relief Act not addressed in the FAQs, including information for employers that received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

Notice 2021-18 provides for adjustments to the limitation on housing expenses for purposes of section 911 of the Internal Revenue Code for the 2021 tax year. These adjustments are made on the basis of geographic differences in housing costs relative to housing costs in the United States. If the limitation on housing expenses is higher for the 2021 tax year than the adjusted limitations on housing expenses provided in Notice 2020-13, qualified taxpayers may apply the adjusted limitations in this notice for the 2021 tax year to their 2020 tax year.

Resident populations of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the insular areas for purposes of determining the 2021 calendar year (1) state housing credit ceiling under section 42(h) of the Code, (2) private activity bond volume cap under section 146, and (3) private activity bond volume limit under section 142(k) are reproduced.