Interest Payments For On-Time Tax Filers
Aug 19, 2020
Nearly 14 million Americans will receive an interest payment check from the IRS sometime this week. Here’s what you need to know:
What happened?
Due to the recent pandemic, this year’s tax filing deadline was pushed back to July 15 which is considered “disaster-related postponement.” As a result, the IRS, by law, must pay interest calculated from the original April 15 filing deadline to anyone who filed their individual return by the postponed deadline. Please note, businesses do not qualify for an interest payment.
What does this mean for me?
If you met the July 15 tax deadline and either received a refund in the past three months or anticipate receiving a refund, you will be receiving an interest payment! Funds will be directly deposited into the same bank account your tax refund was deposited otherwise you will be receiving a check in the mail. The amount of Interest is paid at rates set by law with the average payment being $18.
What is the taxability of these payments?
You must report the interest as taxable income on your 2020 federal income tax return you will file next year. In January 2021, the IRS will send a Form 1099-INT to anyone who receives interest totaling at least $10.
Next steps?
If you have questions regarding your interest payment check, please contact your William Vaughan Company advisor or contact us at 419.891.1040. We’d be happy to help!
Categories: COVID-19, Tax Planning
PPP Application Deadline Extended to August 8
Jul 06, 2020
On Saturday, July 4, President Trump signed legislation extending the application deadline for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) enacted in the weeks following the economic shutdown as a result of COVID-19.
The original deadline to apply was Tuesday, June 30, but with more than $130 billion still available in the fund, both houses of Congress approved the extension unanimously earlier in the week. With the President’s signature Saturday, businesses will now have until August 8 to apply for the assistance.
The PPP provides loans to small businesses to be used for certain payroll and non-payroll costs they may otherwise have difficulty funding due to the coronavirus pandemic. Such loans may be forgiven in part or in whole.
You can apply for your PPP loan through any of the 1,800 participating SBA approved 7(a) lenders or through any participating federally insured depository institution, federally insured credit union, and Farm Credit System institution. For more information on the federally funded program, visit the SBA website or connect with your William Vaughan Company advisor for additional guidance and recommendations based on your specific situation.
Categories: COVID-19, Other Resources
Latest SBA Guidance & Other Updates
Jun 18, 2020
Interim SBA Ruling
On Tuesday, June 16 the SBA filed its 19th Interim Final Rule (IFR) focused on revisions made from Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (Flexibility Act) signed into law on June 5th.
Notable provisions in the unpublished document include:
- The newest guidance shows how to calculate owner compensation. For Borrowers using a 24-week Covered Period, this amount is capped at $20,833 (the 2.5-month equivalent of $100,000 per year) for each individual or the 2.5-month equivalent of their applicable compensation in 2019, whichever is lower. For Borrowers using an 8-week Covered Period, this amount is capped at $15,385 (the eight-week equivalent of $100,000 per year) for each individual or the eight-week equivalent of their applicable compensation in 2019, whichever is lower. While the guidance is somewhat unclear, this cap appears to apply to owners of all entity types, and at any level of ownership.
- The payroll requirement was reduced from 75% to 60%.
- Lastly, the loan forgiveness amounts for non-payroll expenses have also been extended to 24 weeks, making it much easier to meet loan forgiveness thresholds.
EZ Version Loan Application
In addition, the SBA also released two new applications: a revised full-loan application and the new EZ Forgiveness Application. The agency says the EZ version “requires fewer calculations and less documentation” and reduces the burden for smaller recipients, like self-employed individuals and sole proprietors. This new EZ application applies to borrowers that:
- Are self-employed and have no employees; OR
- Did not reduce the salaries or wages of their employees by more than 25%, and did not reduce the number or hours of their employees; OR
- Experienced reductions in business activity as a result of health directives related to COVID-19, and did not reduce the salaries or wages of their employees by more than 25%”.
Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Re-opened
The SBA recently re-opened the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance program portal to all eligible applicants experiencing economic impacts due to COVID-19. Businesses with 500 or fewer employees are generally eligible. The loan process is streamlined and is completed online directly through the SBA. Loan amounts are determined by the SBA and can be up to $2 million with repayment terms up to 30 years and an interest rate of 3.75% (2.75% for non-profits). Additionally, you can request an advance on the loan, which will be awarded as $1,000 per employee, up to a total of $10,000.
As always, should you have questions or concerns about your specific situation, please contact your William Vaughan Company advisor. Additional resources can be found on our WVC COVID-19 Resource Center. Finally, stay tuned for an updated version of our WVC PPP Loan Forgiveness calculator which will reflect this updated guidance.
Categories: COVID-19, Other Resources
President Trump Signs Much Needed PPP Flexibility Bill Into Law
Jun 05, 2020
Today, President Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (the PPP Flexibility Act). This Act provides much-needed relief by relaxing the stringent guidelines for businesses to receive loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program.
Key provisions include:
- The original 8-week period in which borrowers needed to spend the PPP Loan proceeds received can now be extended to 24 weeks. This extension provides additional time and opportunity for businesses to make the qualified expenditures necessary to have the loan proceeds forgiven. However, it is advisable if all loan proceeds have already been spent, businesses elect to apply for the original 8-week period (which is permissible) and expedite their forgiveness assuming the full-time equivalents (FTEs) have been restored.
- Previous regulations required a minimum of 75% of the loan proceeds forgiven must be spent on payroll expenses, health insurance, and/or retirement plans. If not met, loan recipients would forfeit a portion of their forgiveness. Thankfully, that hurdle has been dramatically reduced to 60% which allows businesses to now allocate up to 40% of the potentially forgivable loan proceeds to rent, utilities, and interest on secured debt. However, it does appear upon reading this is a “cliff rule”. Meaning if you only spend 59% on payroll, potentially ZERO dollars will be forgiven.
- Before H.R. 7010, PPP loan forgiveness rules indicated the amount forgiven would be reduced proportionately to the reduction of a recipient’s workforce during the original 8-week window if that same number of employees were not brought back by June 30th. According to updated legislation, this window has been modified to use the new 24-week window mentioned above with the amnesty rehire date being pushed back to December 31, 2020. For example, take an employer with 80 employees pre-pandemic who reduced its workforce to 40 employees during the 24 weeks. Assuming they spend the loan proceeds on qualified expenses during said 24 weeks, the employer will receive complete forgiveness so long as they’ve brought the workforce back to 80 by December 31st.
- Whether due to government restrictions still in place, a lack of qualified individuals, or even individuals choosing not to return to work as a result of the current federal unemployment subsidy, an exception to the rehire rule has been enacted. To qualify for this exception, the borrower must establish they have been unable to restore previous FTE levels due to one or more of the aforementioned scenarios. Unfortunately, this exception is still largely a gray area and we are hopeful that additional guidance is imminent aucasinosonline.com.
- The repayment period for loan proceeds still owed after reductions for forgiveness and EIDL grants (up to $10,000) has been extended from 2 years to 5 years with the interest rate remaining unchanged at 1%. Additionally, payments on the amounts still owed can be deferred up to the date on which the SBA makes the loan forgiveness determination.
Many loan recipients were hopeful for some clarification and additional guidance as it pertains to the deductibility of expenses for which the PPP loan proceeds were used. However, this still remains unanswered.
William Vaughan Company continues to keep a careful watch on additional legislation and is committed to sharing with you our insights and perspectives as regulations develop aucasinosonline.com/nz. To ensure you are staying up-to-date, we encourage you to sign-up for our WVC Insights emails here.
Categories: COVID-19, Other Resources
The Treasury Department and Small business Administration’s (SBA) Latest Guidance, Loan Forgiveness Application and the WVC Forgiveness Calculator
May 26, 2020
On May 15, the SBA released its Loan Forgiveness Application for the Paycheck Protection Program. The application outlines the computation for debt forgiveness. While there are still many questions that need to be addressed, the guidance helped clarify some larger items:
- The first day of the Covered Period for your PPP loan must be the same as the PPP Loan Disbursement Date and extends over the 56-day Covered Period. Borrowers with biweekly or more frequent payroll periods may elect to use the Alternative Payroll Covered Period that begins on the first day of their first pay period following the date when you receive the loan proceeds.
- Payroll costs that have either been paid or incurred in the 56-day Covered Period are both eligible for forgiveness. If a cost is incurred and paid in the Covered Period, it will only be counted one time toward the forgiveness calculation.
- Eligible Nonpayroll for forgiveness consist of:
- covered mortgage obligations: payments of interest (not including any prepayment or payment of principal) on any business mortgage obligation on real or personal property incurred before February 15, 2020 (“business mortgage interest payments”);
- covered rent obligations: business rent or lease payments pursuant to lease agreements for real or personal property in force before February 15, 2020 (“business rent or lease payments”); and
- covered utility payments: business payments for a service for the distribution of electricity, gas, water, transportation, telephone, or internet access for which service began before February 15, 2020 (“business utility payments”).
- Under the SBA’s guidance, the total amount of cash compensation eligible for forgiveness for each individual employee cannot exceed an annual salary of $100,000, as prorated for the Covered Period; that is, it cannot exceed $15,385.
All guidance on the Loan Forgiveness Application can be found here. While we are expecting more guidance from the SBA, we advise our clients to keep careful and detailed records and documentation throughout this process to maximize forgiveness.
WVC Calculator
William Vaughan Company is working diligently to update our Forgiveness Calculator to meet the latest SBA guidance. We will be sending you the latest version as soon as possible. Keep an eye out for our email. If you do not already receive our timely communications, please subscribe to WVC Insights here.
Categories: Other Resources