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Today, May 13th, the Treasury released FAQ #46, which provides that any borrower where they, together with affiliates, received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of less than $2 million are deemed to have met the economic uncertainty test. This decision comes on the heels of extensive discussion regarding how businesses that received PPP loans could verify that, due to economic uncertainty, they needed the funds to support their ongoing operations.

On April 24, the President signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, providing $310 billion in additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), $10 billion for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (EIDL), as well as funding for other critical healthcare needs.

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was created as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to provide cash to businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds can be used to pay employees, along with other expenses such as health insurance premiums, rent or mortgage payments, and utilities. Loans under the PPP will be 100% guaranteed by U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and the full amount of the loans and any accrued interest may qualify for loan forgiveness.

The IRS recently announced special Federal income tax return filing and payment relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the IRS, these are some of the most common questions taxpayers are asking in regards to these recent changes.*

March 27, 2020

Last week, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, to provide relief for families amidst the global COVID-19 outbreak. The Act will be effective on April 2nd and as an employer, there are things you should consider for business planning and compliance in this evolving situation.

It’s the end of January which means it is almost tax season.   At this point, tax documents have probably started showing up in your mailbox.  While it may seem like there is plenty of time, the sooner and more organized you can make your documents, the smoother the process will be.

This year on January 1, a new law put the Workforce Education Surcharge into effect. This means that a new three-tiered surcharge applies to the amount of tax payable under the Service and Other Activities B&O tax classification by businesses “primarily engaged” in one or more specific activities.

On May 23, 2019 the House voted 417-3 to pass legislation intended to help individuals save for retirement, encourage them to participate in retirement plans, and make it easier for small businesses to offer tax-qualified plans to their employees. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) passed the Senate December 19th and was signed by President Trump on Dec. 20. It is the largest piece of legislation affecting retirement plan rules since the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Many of the act’s provisions become effective on Jan. 1, 2020 and all retirement plans must adopt the law by 2022. As with any new law, not all of the details are clear yet, but below is a high-level summary of what you should know:

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 brought about many tax changes, one of which is what and how much of your meals and entertainment expenses are deductible. At a high level, beginning in 2018, entertainment expenses are no longer deductible and the majority of meal expenses are now deductible at 50%.

We first wrote about these changes in this blog post a year ago- and the following checklist provides further clarification on the new rules.

Do you have questions on how to classify your meals and entertainment expenses? Contact Sweeney Conrad’s Senior Tax Associate Darren Reed at dreed@sweeneyconrad.com.