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Answers to Questions About the CARES Act Employee Retention Tax Credit

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The recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides a refundable payroll tax credit for 50% of wages paid by eligible employers to certain employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. The employee retention credit is available to employers, including nonprofit organizations, with operations that have been fully or partially suspended as a result of a government order limiting commerce, travel or group meetings.

The credit is also provided to employers who have experienced a greater than 50% reduction in quarterly receipts, measured on a year-over-year basis.

IRS issues FAQs

The IRS has now released FAQs about the credit. Here are some highlights.

How is the credit calculated? The credit is 50% of qualifying wages paid up to $10,000 in total. So the maximum credit for an eligible employer for qualified wages paid to any employee is $5,000.

Wages paid after March 12, 2020, and before Jan. 1, 2021, are eligible for the credit. Therefore, an employer may be able to claim it for qualified wages paid as early as March 13, 2020. Wages aren’t limited to cash payments, but also include part of the cost of employer-provided health care.

When is the operation of a […]

By |April 6th, 2020|business, credit, employer, New Tax Laws, relief, small business, tax credit, tax planning|0 Comments
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SBA Loans and the Paycheck Protection Program

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Dear clients, family and friends,

We hope you all are well and safe. At Linkenheimer, our staff continue to work hard from home to help our clients find peace of mind and navigate this difficult, evolving situation. As the shelter in place continues for Sonoma County and California, we understand that many of our clients are feeling the stress of protecting and paying employees, managing rent and overhead costs and keeping their business afloat. On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act). The CARES Act contains many provisions for businesses and individuals, but the most impactful provision for small businesses in the immediate future is the Paycheck Protection loan program (PPP). This new program will provide up to $349 billion in federally guaranteed loans for small businesses. The Program will provide much-needed relief to millions of small businesses so they can sustain their businesses and keep their workers employed.

“This legislation provides small business job retention loans to provide eight weeks of payroll and certain overhead to keep workers employed,” said Secretary Mnuchin. “Treasury and the Small Business Administration […]

By |April 3rd, 2020|business, employer, federal, filing deadline, New Tax Laws, self employed, small business, tax cuts, tax deadlines, tax deductions|0 Comments
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The New COVID-19 Law Provides Businesses and Employees With More Relief

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On March 27, President Trump signed into law another coronavirus (COVID-19) law, which provides extensive relief for businesses and employers. Here are some of the tax-related provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). 

Employee retention credit

The new law provides a refundable payroll tax credit for 50% of wages paid by eligible employers to certain employees during the COVID-19 crisis.

Employer eligibility. The credit is available to employers with operations that have been fully or partially suspended as a result of a government order limiting commerce, travel or group meetings. The credit is also provided to employers that have experienced a greater than 50% reduction in quarterly receipts, measured on a year-over-year basis.

The credit isn’t available to employers receiving Small Business Interruption Loans under the new law.

Wage […]

By |March 30th, 2020|business, disaster, employer, filing deadline, gift tax, individuals, irs, New Tax Laws, small business, tax deadlines, tax implications, tax planning, taxpayer|0 Comments
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IRS FAQs Address 90-day Filing and Payment Extension

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The IRS has released a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that clarifies certain aspects of the 90-day filing and payment extension provided in Notice 2020-18. Among other things, the FAQs explain that Notice 2020-18 postpones the filing and payment of federal income taxes reported on Form 1040, Form 1041 , Form 1120, Form 8960, Form 8991 , and Form 990-T (if that form is due to be filed on 4/15/20). The due date has not been postponed for Form 1065, Form 1065-B , Form 1066, Form 1120-S, payroll taxes, excise taxes, estate and gift taxes, and Form 990-T (if that form is due 5/15/20). The FAQs also provide that the deadline for making contributions to an IRA, HSA, or Archer MSA for 2019 has been extended to 7/15/20. The IRS continues to consider additional guidance on these issues and cautions taxpayers that FAQs are not citable as legal authority. The FAQs can be accessed at www.irs.gov/newsroom/filing-and-payment-deadlines-questions-and-answers If you have questions about how these changes may effect you and your business, please contact your Linkenheimer CPA.

By |March 26th, 2020|business, CA tax, irs, New Tax Laws, tax deadlines, tax implications|0 Comments
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SBA Offering Loans to Small Businesses Hit Hard by COVID-19

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Every company has faced unprecedented challenges in adjusting to life following the widespread outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Small businesses face particular difficulties in that, by definition, their resources — human, capital and otherwise — are limited. If this describes your company, one place you can look to for some assistance is the Small Business Administration (SBA).

New loan, relaxed criteria

The agency has announced that it’s offering Economic Injury Disaster Loans under the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, which was recently signed into law.

Here’s how it works: The governor of a state or territory must first submit a request for Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance to the SBA. The agency’s Office of Disaster Assistance then works with the governor to approve the request. Upon completion of this process, affected small businesses within the state gain access to information on how to apply for loan assistance.

To speed the process, […]

By |March 25th, 2020|business, New Tax Laws, relief, small business|0 Comments
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Tax Relief and California Updates

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As we mentioned in our last post, taxpayers now have more time to file their tax returns and pay any tax owed because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Treasury Department and IRS announced that the federal income tax filing due date is automatically extended from April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020.

Taxpayers can also defer making federal income tax payments, which are due on April 15, 2020, until July 15, 2020, without penalties and interest, regardless of the amount they owe. This deferment applies to all taxpayers, including individuals, trusts and estates, corporations and other non-corporate tax filers as well as those who pay self-employment tax. They can also defer their initial quarterly estimated federal income tax payments for the 2020 tax year (including any self-employment tax) from the normal April 15 deadline until July 15.

No forms to file

Taxpayers don’t need to file any additional forms to qualify for the automatic federal tax filing and payment relief to July 15. However, individual taxpayers who need additional time to file beyond the July 15 deadline, can request a filing extension by filing Form 4868. Businesses who need additional time must file […]

By |March 25th, 2020|business, CA tax, filing deadline, irs, New Tax Laws, tax deadlines|0 Comments
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Getting Help With a Business Interruption Insurance Claim

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To guard against natural disasters and other calamities, many companies buy business interruption insurance. These policies provide cash flow to cover revenues lost and expenses incurred while normal operations are limited or suspended.

But buying coverage is one thing — making a claim and receiving the funds is quite another. Depending on the scope of your loss, the insurer may enlist its own specialists to audit and reduce your claim. Fortunately, you can enlist a CPA to help you prepare a claim, quantify business interruption losses and anticipate your insurer’s challenges.

Major roles

There are two major roles your accountant can play in managing the claims process:

1. Point person. He or she can be the primary contact with the insurer, dealing with the typical onslaught of document requests. This leaves you free to run your business and bring it back up to speed.

By |March 9th, 2020|business, disaster|0 Comments
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Numerous Tax Limits Affecting Businesses Have Increased For 2020

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An array of tax-related limits that affect businesses are annually indexed for inflation, and many have increased for 2020. Here are some that may be important to you and your business.

Social Security tax

The amount of employees’ earnings that are subject to Social Security tax is capped for 2020 at $137,700 (up from $132,900 for 2019).

Deductions

  • Section 179 expensing:
    • Limit: $1.04 million (up from $1.02 million for 2019)
    • Phaseout: $2.59 million (up from $2.55 million)
  • Income-based phase-out for certain limits on the Sec. 199A qualified business income deduction begins at:
    • Married filing jointly: $326,600 (up from $321,400)
    • Married filing separately: $163,300 (up from $160,725)
    • Other filers: $163,300 (up from $160,700)

Retirement plans

  • Employee contributions to 401(k) plans: $19,500 (up from $19,000)
  • Catch-up contributions to 401(k) plans: $6,500 (up from $6,000)
  • Employee contributions to SIMPLEs: $13,500 (up from $13,000)
  • Catch-up contributions to SIMPLEs: $3,000 (no change)
  • Combined employer/employee contributions to defined contribution plans (not including catch-ups): $57,000 (up from $56,000)
  • Maximum compensation used to determine contributions: $285,000 (up from $280,000)
  • Annual benefit for defined benefit plans: $230,000 (up from $225,000)
  • Compensation defining a highly compensated employee: $130,000 (up from $125,000)
  • Compensation defining a “key” employee: $185,000 (up from $180,000)

Other employee benefits

  • Qualified transportation fringe-benefits employee income exclusion: $270 per month (up […]
By |March 3rd, 2020|business, deduction, deductions, employer, New Tax Laws, retirement|0 Comments
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Your Home Office Expenses May Be Tax Deductible

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Technology has made it easier to work from home so lots of people now commute each morning to an office down the hall. However, just because you have a home office space doesn’t mean you can deduct expenses associated with it.

Regularly and exclusively

In order to be deductible for 2019 and 2020, you must be self-employed and the space must be used regularly (not just occasionally) and exclusively for business purposes. If, for example, your home office is also a guest bedroom or your children do their homework there, you can’t deduct the expenses associated with the space.

Two options

If you qualify, the home office deduction can be a valuable tax break. There are two options for the deduction:

  • Write off a portion of your mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, utilities and certain other expenses, as well as the depreciation allocable to the office space. This requires calculating, allocating and substantiating actual expenses.
  • Take the “safe harbor” deduction. Only one simple calculation is necessary: $5 times the number of square feet of the office space. The safe harbor deduction is capped at $1,500 per year, based on a maximum of 300 square feet.

Changes through 2025

Under […]

By |February 4th, 2020|business, deduction, expensing, New Tax Laws|0 Comments
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New Law Provides a Variety of Tax Breaks to Businesses and Employers

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While you were celebrating the holidays, you may not have noticed that Congress passed a law with a grab bag of provisions that provide tax relief to businesses and employers. The “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020” was signed into law on December 20, 2019. It makes many changes to the tax code, including an extension (generally through 2020) of more than 30 provisions that were set to expire or already expired.

Two other laws were passed as part of the law (The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019 and the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act).

Here are five highlights.

Long-term part-timers can participate in 401(k)s.

Under current law, employers generally can exclude part-time employees (those who work less than 1,000 hours per year) when providing a 401(k) plan to their employees. A qualified retirement plan can generally delay participation in the plan based on an employee attaining […]

By |January 29th, 2020|401k, affordable care act, business, tax, tax credit|0 Comments
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