Eligible self-employed individuals are allowed a credit against their federal income taxes for any taxable year equal to their “qualified sick leave equivalent amount” or “qualified family leave equivalent amount.”
For an eligible self-employed individual who is unable to work because the individual:
- is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
- has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19; or
- is:
- experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis,
- seeking or awaiting the results of a diagnostic test for, or a medical diagnosis of, COVID-19 and the individual has been exposed to COVID-19 or is unable to work pending the results of the test or diagnosis, or
- obtaining immunization related to COVID-19 or recovering from any injury, disability, illness, or condition related to the immunization,
the qualified sick leave equivalent amount is equal to the number of days during the taxable year that the individual cannot perform services in any trade or business for one of the three above reasons, multiplied by the lesser of $511 or 100 percent of the “average daily self-employment income” of the individual for the taxable year, or the prior taxable year.
For an eligible self-employed individual who is unable to work because the individual is:
- caring for an individual who is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19, or has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19;
- caring for a child if the child’s school or place of care has been closed, or child care provider is unavailable due to COVID-19 precautions; or
- experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of HHS in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor. The Secretary of HHS has specified, after consultation with the Secretaries of Treasury and Labor, that a substantially similar condition is one in which the employee takes leave:
- to accompany an individual to obtain immunization related to COVID-19, or
- to care for an individual who is recovering from any injury, disability, illness, or condition related to the immunization.
the qualified sick leave equivalent amount is equal to the number of days during the taxable year that the individual cannot perform services in any trade or business for one of the three above reasons, multiplied by the lesser of $200 or 67 percent of the “average daily self-employment income” of the individual for the taxable year, or the prior taxable year.
In either case, the maximum number of days a self-employed individual may take into account in determining the qualified sick leave equivalent amount is ten.
Note: The only days that may be taken into account in a taxable year in determining the qualified sick leave equivalent amount for the year are days occurring during the year and during the period beginning on April 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021.
For more information visit IRS.GOV.