New guidance on the so-called pandemic payroll tax deferment issued by IRS last week does not change previously issued guidance to small business employers. The new IRS guidance strengthens the argument that employers should not make any change in payroll tax practices at this time. Deferent of payroll taxes, if not paid timely in early […]
This weekend the President issued an Executive Order to postpone employer’s payment of wage taxes. The advice that I and every other small business tax adviser, to my knowledge, immediately issued to clients was to take no action until we receive further guidance. Most tax experts believe that only Congress has the power to stop […]
On April 24 the US Treasury issued this guidance on how to calculate the maximum amount of loan under the Paycheck Protection Program. It would have been a lot more useful if was dated April 3, instead of April 24 but we have to complete the details now on how to compute the maximum loan […]
I’ve publicized here and on other platforms that my firm and some affiliates will prepare and submit economic relief applications under the CARES Act without charge. But submitting the application is the easy part. Doing the required underlying accounting and assembling the documentation to support these loan and grants applications is potentially expensive. Of course, […]
Almost nothing went right in the launch of the Payroll Protection Program over the past two business days. The best advice is to keep trying and don’t give up. Don’t forget what’s happening on a state level. The state programs quickly oversubscribed but today but more relief is likely. If you are sweating bullets to […]
I am not charging fees – and you shouldn’t need to pay for anyone else’s fees either – for preparing small business Payroll Protection Program applications in accordance with federal law and the guidance of both the AICPA and the NJCPA1. Specifically, the CARES Act states: ‘‘FEE LIMITS. — An agent that assists an eligible […]
For those employers planning to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program: there are new developments related to this program since yesterday. It seems likely that we will hear more today. The most important change is that late yesterday we learned that the federal funding is not yet available to the lending banks so the banks […]
The U. S. Department of Labor thoughtfully provides 59 Questions and Answers related to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act but omits the most common situation encountered in the small business market. So I will add Q and A #60 to the list: 60: What happens if my employer has lost 75% to 90% of […]
The evolving saga of “employee vs contractor”, from the small business employer’s perspective, means that you should revisit the conversation for business planning purposes now. Background In case you’ve been so engrossed with other headlines that you haven’t read any business news: the world of independent contractors, so-called “gig workers” is facing rapid and dramatic […]
Planning the federal income tax treatment for ministers1 must consider several topics that are unique to ministers. Employee status A minister is considered an employee under the common law rules and yet payments for services as a minister are considered income from self employment pursuant to IRC §§ 1402(c ) and 3121(b)(8). This is the […]