American Rescue Plan Act
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was passed by the Senate on Saturday, March 6 and in the House on Wednesday, March 10. The $1.9 trillion relief bill now heads to President Biden’s desk. He signed the bill into law on Thursday, March 11. Read on for details on the provisions included in the ARPA. Individual Stimulus Checks Estimated portion of the stimulus package: $422 billion The ARPA includes another round of economic impact payments [Read More]
Clarification on PPP Loan Payments and Forgiveness Applications
The latest guidance from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) states that Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness applications can be submitted any time before the maturity date of the loan, which is either two or five years from the loan’s origination. However, loan payments are only deferred for 10 months from the end of their covered period before payments must be made. For example, if the 24-week covered period ended October 30, 2020, then [Read More]
New Paycheck Protection Program Guidance Released
On Wednesday, January 6, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Treasury issued joint guidance regarding the latest updates to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), as amended by the recent COVID-19 relief bill. A recent article from the Journal of Accountancy offers an overview of the guidance, which includes the following items: An interim final rule titled, “Business Loan Program Temporary Changes; Paycheck Protection Program as Amended” – This document includes a consolidation of [Read More]
President Enacts Additional Stimulus Legislation
On December 22, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA2021), which includes $892 billion in coronavirus stimulus spending. This long-awaited and highly contested piece of legislation ties coronavirus relief funding into a $1.4 trillion resolution for funding the federal government through September of next year. The nearly $900 billion in stimulus funds comprises a variety of measures, including a renewal of enhanced unemployment benefits, an extension of the Paycheck Protection [Read More]
IRS Issues Guidance Regarding Payroll Tax Deferral
On Friday, August 28, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2020-65, which offers guidance regarding the implementation of the Presidential Memorandum on the deferment of some payroll taxes. The memorandum, which was released by the President on August 8th, called for a deferral of the employee share of social security tax (or the railroad retirement tax equivalent) due between September 1, 2020, and the end of the year. The deferral applies to employees who [Read More]
SBA and Treasury Release Additional PPP Guidance
On August 24, the Small Business Administration and Treasury made available a new set of guidance regarding Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) forgiveness issues. The new interim final rule covers two areas: owner-employee compensation and the eligibility of non-payroll costs. A recent article from the Journal of Accountancy offers a concise summation of the new regulations. Owner-employee compensation – For the purposes of calculating loan forgiveness, C-corporation and S-corporation owners who hold less than a 5% stake [Read More]
SBA Issues 23 New PPP FAQs
On August 4th, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) released additional guidance regarding forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. In consultation with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the SBA added 23 new questions to their PPP FAQ page. The SBA sorts the new loan forgiveness FAQs into the following four categories: General Guidance - The first three FAQs cover broad subjects: which forgiveness application should be used by sole proprietors, independent contractors, and [Read More]
PPP Gets Five-Week Extension
On Wednesday, July 1, the House agreed unanimously to an extension of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The five-week extension originated in the Senate on Tuesday, where it was approved late in the evening. President Trump signed the bill into law on Saturday, July 4. With around $129 billion of loan funds still available through the PPP, the application window closed on Tuesday, June 30 at midnight. However, this extension means that the U.S. Small [Read More]
SBA PPP Guidance Update—June 25-26, 2020
Late last week, the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) released yet another round of guidance updates regarding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The areas covered by this latest release are maturity dates and loan amounts. A recent article from the Journal of Accountancy offers a brief overview of the guidance update. The additional guidance was released in the form of new and updated PPP FAQ questions on the SBA website. Here are details of [Read More]
SBA Releases Guidance Regarding Early PPP Loan Forgiveness
On June 22, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) released additional guidance regarding Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness. A recent article from the Journal of Accountancy summarizes the information contained in the release. The new interim final rule primarily addresses changes made by the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020. This is the second round of guidance following the new legislation. It seeks to respond to inquiries regarding applying early for PPP loan [Read More]