Extension of Deadline to Claim Benefit Related to Hurricanes Irma and María

New Regulation or Official Guidance

Author: Ana María Bigas-Kennerley, Senior Counsel – Littler Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury (the PR Treasury) issued Internal Revenue Informative Bulletin No. 19-01 extending the deadline to March 31, 2019, to request the Federal Employee Retention Benefit related to Hurricane Irma and María (the Benefit). Also, the deadline to submit a Benefit Claim (for those employers who requested the Benefit by March 31, 2019 and do not receive it in accordance with the PR Treasury guidance) was also extended until April 30, 2019. Pursuant to the PR Treasury guidance, both the request and the claim for Benefit can be made only through the PR Treasury’s digital platform.

Employers to Submit Unemployment Tax Returns Electronically

New Regulation or Official Guidance

Author: Ana María Bigas-Kennerley, Senior Counsel – Littler Puerto Rico

On March 14, 2019, the PR Department of Labor (PR DOL) announced that in an effort to improve services and reduce public expenses, employers must electronically file their unemployment tax returns for the first quarter of 2019, between April 1 and April 30, 2019. To file their returns, employers must access the PR DOL wage page. Although the ability to submit the returns electronically through the PR DOL website is not new, employers had the alternative of filing the returns on paper. Starting for the first quarter of 2019, employers will no longer have that option, as the PR DOL will not accept or consider any returns in paper.