PPP borrowers get concessions, additional guidance on forgiveness
July 13, 2020
The U.S. Senate has passed the bipartisan Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020, which loosens several of the Paycheck Protection Program’s (PPP’s) more onerous restrictions regarding loan forgiveness. President Trump has signed the bill into law. The new law follows the May 22, 2020, release of an interim final rule from the U.S. Department […]
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The IRS clarifies the deductibility of PPP-funded expenses
July 8, 2020
The IRS has issued new guidance addressing a question that has lingered since the launch of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) — whether expenses paid for with forgiven, tax-free PPP loan proceeds are deductible business expenses under Section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). The guidance in IRS Notice 2020-32 doesn’t provide the answer […]
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Business meal deductions: The current rules amid proposed changes
June 24, 2020
Restaurants and entertainment venues have been hard hit by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. One of the tax breaks that President Trump has proposed to help them is an increase in the amount that can be deducted for business meals and entertainment. It’s unclear whether Congress would go along with enhanced business meal and entertainment […]
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IRS releases 2021 amounts for Health Savings Accounts
June 19, 2020
The IRS recently released the 2021 inflation-adjusted amounts for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). HSA basics An HSA is a trust created or organized exclusively for the purpose of paying the “qualified medical expenses” of an “account beneficiary.” An HSA can only be established for the benefit of an “eligible individual” who is covered under a […]
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Fortunate enough to get a PPP loan? Forgiven expenses aren’t deductible
June 15, 2020
The IRS has issued guidance clarifying that certain deductions aren’t allowed if a business has received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. Specifically, an expense isn’t deductible if both: The payment of the expense results in forgiveness of a loan made under the PPP, and The income associated with the forgiveness is excluded from gross […]
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Business charitable contribution rules have changed under the CARES Act
June 10, 2020
In light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, many businesses are interested in donating to charity. In order to incentivize charitable giving, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act made some liberalizations to the rules governing charitable deductions. Here are two changes that affect businesses: The limit on charitable deductions for corporations has […]
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The CARES Act liberalizes net operating losses
June 5, 2020
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act eliminates some of the tax-revenue-generating provisions included in a previous tax law. Here’s a look at how the rules for claiming certain tax losses have been modified to provide businesses with relief from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. NOL deductions Basically, you may be able to […]
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New COVID-19 law makes favorable changes to “qualified improvement property”
June 2, 2020
The law providing relief due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic contains a beneficial change in the tax rules for many improvements to interior parts of nonresidential buildings. This is referred to as qualified improvement property (QIP). You may recall that under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), any QIP placed in service after December […]
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Small business owners still have time to set up a SEP plan for last year
April 14, 2020
Do you own a business but haven’t gotten around to setting up a tax-advantaged retirement plan? Fortunately, it’s not too late to establish one and reduce your 2019 tax bill. A Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) can still be set up for 2019, and you can make contributions to it that you can deduct on your […]
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