COVID-19 Resources

The IRS on Wednesday issued the limitations on depreciation deductions for passenger automobiles first placed in service in 2020 and the amounts of income inclusion for lessees of passenger automobiles first leased during 2020 (Rev. Proc. 2020-37). For these purposes, passenger automobiles include trucks and vans. The amounts in the revenue procedure are inflation-adjusted as required by Sec. 280F(d)(7), using the automobile component of the chained consumer price index for all urban consumers (C-CPI-U). For passenger automobiles to which the Sec. 168(k) additional (bonus) first-year depreciation deduction applies and that are acquired after Sept. 27, 2017, and placed in

The Department of the Treasury and IRS have announced the tax filing and payment deadline of July 15 will not be postponed. Individual taxpayers unable to meet the July 15 due date can request an automatic extension of time to file until Oct. 15. Due to COVID-19, the original filing deadline and tax payment due date for 2019 was postponed from April 15 to July 15. The IRS reminds taxpayers filing Form 1040 series returns that they must file Form 4868 by July 15 to obtain the automatic extension to Oct. 15. The extension provides additional time to file

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), in consultation with Treasury, released Wednesday a revised loan forgiveness application for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The SBA also unveiled a new EZ application for forgiveness of PPP loans. The applications reflect changes to the PPP made by the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act of 2020, P.L. 116-142, which became law June 5. The applications and instructions are available in the links below: Revised PPP Loan Forgiveness Application EZ PPP Loan Forgiveness Application The releases Wednesday came only hours after the SBA issued a new interim final rule providing guidance on how to calculate

The bill now heads to The President for his signature. If signed into law (which is expected), the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act would ease a lot of the limitations in the original loan forgiveness guidelines established by SBA interim final rules: Extends the “covered period” under which small businesses can spend the loan proceeds from eight weeks to 24 weeks, or until Dec. 31. Remove the limits on loan forgiveness for small businesses that were unable to rehire employees, hire new employees, or return to the same level of business activity as before the virus. Expand the 25%

The Small Business Administration has officially weighed in on using funds from the Paycheck Protection Program to pay for bonuses, ending weeks of interpretations and guesses from small-business owners and experts. The new guidance, published Friday, echoes what CPAs and other experts had surmised: Bonuses, hazard pay, or other extra compensation are allowed for employees, but not for owners of business recipients of the loan program.  The SBA clarified section 1106(d)4 of the Act and stated that employees can get bonuses so long as their total salary does not exceed $100,000 on an annualized basis for the funds to still qualify for forgiveness. 

On Friday, May 15th, the Small Business Administration (SBA) released the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Application which attempts to answer many of the lingering questions loan recipients have about loan forgiveness.   Counting Your Full-Time Employee Equivalents Employers will have the choice of using one of two methods to calculate the number of full-time employee equivalents (FTE). 40 Hour Method A full-time employee typical works 40 hours or more per week. However, 40 hours is applied to every period (the 2/15/19-6/30/19 or the 1/1/20-2/29/20) for computing your “base level” FTE. Alternative Computation Method: Employers may choose a

May 13, 2020-There has been a fair amount of uncertainty regarding all of the rules surrounding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). One item which caused concern among many small businesses was the previous SBA guidance regarding the good-faith certification required as part of the PPP application. Due to the punishments allowed under the legislation, including criminal prosecution and civil penalties, many borrowers started to wonder if they should just give the money back rather than navigate these vague terms. The good news is that #46 FAQ indicates that loans with an original principal amount of less than $2 million

As part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic, the IRS announced Tuesday in Notice 2020-29 that it is permitting increased flexibility for midyear elections under a Sec. 125 cafeteria plan during calendar year 2020 for employer-sponsored health coverage, health flexible spending arrangements (FSAs), and dependent care assistance programs. Elections under a Sec. 125 cafeteria plan generally are irrevocable and must be made before the first day of the plan year, except as provided in Regs. Sec. 1.125-4. Under that regulation, a Sec. 125 cafeteria plan may permit an employee to revoke an election during a period of coverage and to

Loudoun County is the latest D.C.-area locality to offer grants to businesses affected by the coronavirus outbreak, creating a $1 million fund to respond to the economic calamity. The county’s Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the new “COVID-19 Business Interruption” program Tuesday, authorizing cash grants of up to $10,000 each for small businesses. Loudoun’s Department of Economic Development will manage the program, using funding transferred over from a pot reserved to help lure companies to the county. Who’s eligible for Loudoun grants Like other efforts around the region, officials targeted the program toward small businesses. Any business with at least three employees

The Senate on Tuesday approved $370 billion in additional funding for small businesses through programs administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as part of a new COVID-19 pandemic relief bill. The relief bill passed in the Senate and moves to the House, which will convene to consider the package, with a vote expected Thursday. President Donald Trump said in a tweet that he would sign the legislation. The $484 billion bills also include an additional $75 billion for reimbursements to hospitals and health care providers to support the need for coronavirus-related expenses and lost revenue. Funding of