By Kimberly Loocke, Eric Wall, Julia Riechert, and Richard D. Harroch In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place orders, businesses are considering ways to assist employees and other workers who are financially burdened by the crisis. One simple and tax-favorable action is to make disaster relief assistance payments under Section 139 of the Internal Revenue Code. Under Section 139, payments for personal, family, living, or funeral expenses incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic are both tax-free to the individual recipients and tax-deductible expenses for the business. Payments are free of IRS reporting requirements and a plan