On April 21, President Joe Biden encouraged employers to claim a new tax credit for small and medium sized businesses that provide employees with paid time off to obtain COVID-19 vaccinations. The new credit is intended to provide an additional incentive for employers with 500 or fewer employees to assist their workers who agree to take the vaccine.

The tax credit is modeled after earlier federal legislation providing paid sick leave for employees affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides up to 80 hours of fully paid wages up to $511 per day for time taken to obtain the vaccine, as well as for any time spent recovering from side effects associated with the vaccine. Employers can use the tax credit for time taken by employees between April 1 and September 30 of this year. The IRS has published a fact sheet explaining how employers can claim the credit.