Category: Coronavirus / COVID-19

In the face of a flood of illegitimate claims for the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC), the IRS has imposed an immediate moratorium through at least the end of 2023 on processing new claims for the credit. The reason the IRS cites for the move is the risk of honest small business owners being scammed by unscrupulous promoters who submit questionable claims on their behalf. The Fraud Problem The ERTC is a refundable tax credit intended for businesses that 1) continued paying… Read more ›

While the recently announced student loan debt relief has captured numerous headlines, it’s estimated that another federal relief program announced on the same day will provide more than $1.2 billion in tax refunds or credits. Specifically, IRS Notice 2022-36 extends penalty relief to both individuals and businesses who missed the filing deadlines for certain 2019 and/or 2020 tax and information returns. The relief covers many of the most commonly filed forms. Broad Relief for Late Taxpayers The intent behind the… Read more ›

  The global wide push to “go green” has built momentum over the years, and research points toward an even greater increase in the American demand for clean energy going forward. While the movement has primarily centered around the adoption of electric vehicles, the clean energy trend isn’t just lucrative for car sales. There are myriad attractive clean energy initiatives that could result in significant tax savings for your auto dealership. While many clean energy initiatives have come and gone… Read more ›

Many people invest in marketable securities, including stocks, bonds, money market funds and real estate investment trusts (REITs). But a less conventional investment option that’s historically paid off for many investors is purchasing a home or condo to rent out to third parties. This alternative may help diversify your existing portfolio and hedge against public market trends. With any investment, there are no guarantees of success, especially if you have a short time horizon. But rental properties may be a… Read more ›

  Over the last year, consumer prices rose 7.9%, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Consumer Price Index covers the prices of food, clothing, shelter, fuels, transportation, doctors’ and dentists’ services, drugs, and other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. This is the highest 12-month increase since 1982. Increases in the price of consumer goods will affect most businesses, sooner or later. For example, if you operate a restaurant, spikes… Read more ›

An important payroll tax deadline is coming up for certain employers. To provide relief from the economic ravages of COVID-19, the CARES Act allowed employers to defer their share of Social Security tax from March 27 through Dec. 31, 2020. Those employers must now pay 50% of the deferred tax by Dec. 31, 2021, and the balance by Dec. 31, 2022. In guidance, the IRS Office of Chief Counsel states that to avoid penalties, deposits must be made of “all… Read more ›

A critical deadline is approaching for many of the businesses that have received loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was created in March 2020 by the CARES Act. If these borrowers don’t take action before the deadline expires, their loans will become standard loans, and the borrowers could be responsible for repaying the full amount plus 1% interest before the maturity date. In addition, some borrowers could face audits. Paycheck Protection Program Forgiveness basics PPP loans generally are… Read more ›

The 2021 advance child tax credit (CTC) payments, which were established under a recent law, will begin being made on July 15, 2021, the IRS announced. The tax agency also stated that “roughly 39 million households — covering 88% of children in the United States — are slated to begin receiving monthly payments without any further action required.” Background Taxpayers are allowed a child tax credit for each qualifying child. The credit was temporarily expanded and made refundable for 2021 by… Read more ›

President Biden recently announced his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan (AFP), the third step in his Build Back Better policy initiative. The announcement followed the previous releases of the proposed $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan and the Made in America Tax Plan. These plans propose major investments in various domestic initiatives, such as expanded tax credits for families, offset with tax increases on high-income individual taxpayers and corporations. American Families Plan: Proposed tax changes for the wealthy The American Families… Read more ›

President Biden’s proposals for individual taxpayers were outlined in an April 28 address to Congress and in an 18-page fact sheet released by the White House. The “American Families Plan” contains tax breaks for low- and middle-income taxpayers and tax increases on those “making over $400,000 per year.” Here’s a summary of some of the proposals. Extended tax breaks – American Families Plan Extend the Child Tax Credit (CTC) increases in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) through 2025 and… Read more ›