Dear: Client

In light of the continuing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its effect on businesses, the United States government has been unrolling updates and extensions to legislation providing relief to businesses. The Treasury has provided several pieces of key guidance in late February and early March which may help your business obtain government help to keep going.

Small Businesses Get Preference when Applying for the PPP

        Small businesses with less than 20 employees and sole proprietorships will get preferential treatment when applying for the second draw of the Paycheck Protection Program. The deadline for this window expires tomorrow; so if you qualify for the second draw and have not applied yet, please reach out to your lender and to us in order to get your application through before it expires.

Schedule C Filers Can Claim More for the PPP 

       Schedule C filers who did not obtain Paycheck Protection Program funds during the first draw will now be able to calculate their loan amount based on their gross income rather than their net profit. The change opens the door for larger loans to self-employed individuals, many of whom may not record much net profit on their Schedule C.
       If you are a self-employed individual who has not yet obtained any PPP funds, now would be the time to apply. The change in calculation does not retroactively apply to Schedule C filers who got their loans from January 1st until March 2nd, 2021.       

March 31st: Deadline to Apply for the Second Round of the PPP

       There are now just over 3 weeks left to apply for the second draw of the Paycheck Protection Program, with billions of dollars available in funding.
       You qualify for the second round of PPP funding if your business has less than 300 employees, you have or will use the full amount of the first PPP loan, your gross receipts in any calendar of 2020 were 25% less than your gross receipts for the same quarter in 2019, and if you need the loan to support the ongoing operations of the business. If you qualify and have not applied yet, reach out to your bank and to us in order to get your application submitted within the time frame.

Tax Credits for Businesses: The Employee Retention Credit 2020 and 2021

       Any business that paid wages to employees other than the owners in 2020 needs to pay attention to the Employee Retention Credit; otherwise it might be leaving tax credits to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars on the table. The employee retention credit is a refundable tax credit, which is 50% or 70% of up to $10,000 in wages paid to an employee by an eligible employer whose business has been financially impacted by COVID-19. This means that your business can get a tax credit for a part of payroll paid during quarters in 2020 or 2021 when it suffered due to COVID-19.