Category: Coronavirus / COVID-19

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA) was signed into law in late December. The sprawling legislation contains billions of dollars in additional stimulus funding in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as numerous unrelated provisions. Let’s take a closer look at the provisions that are most likely to affect your company’s bottom line. Paycheck Protection Program The CAA includes another $284 billion in funding for forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), for both first-time and so… Read more ›

President Trump signed into law billions of dollars in long-awaited COVID-19 and economic relief. The relief package is part of the nearly 5,600-page Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), which also contains numerous other tax, payroll and retirement provisions. Here are some of the provisions most likely to affect individual taxpayers. Recovery Rebates The most headline-grabbing component of the CAA is the second round of direct payments. The law calls for nontaxable “recovery rebates” of $600 per eligible taxpayer ($1,200 for married… Read more ›

After months of negotiations in Washington, an agreement has been struck on a new aid package to address the ongoing fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The legislation has been passed by both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, and now goes to President Trump to sign the bill into law. As of this writing on December 22, the President has expressed concerns about some aspects of the relief bill. Included in the nearly 5,600-page Consolidated Appropriations Act… Read more ›

The Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA) made substantial tax subsidies available to eligible employers, so they can provide paid sick leave and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave for certain employees impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible employers are those with fewer than 500 employees. An employer that has fewer than 50 employees may be able to make the case to the Department of Labor (DOL) that complying with rules would jeopardize the viability of his or her… Read more ›

  Several months into the COVID-19 crisis, most not-for-profit organizations have formulated at least a temporary plan for sustaining operations. But short-term solutions should be complemented by long-term strategic planning that reprioritizes objectives. Specifically, your not-for-profit needs to focus on three areas: social impact, economic viability and capacity to deliver. Let’s take a look. Social Impact What social impact do you hope to achieve? Your answer to this question may have changed since the beginning of the pandemic. To respond… Read more ›

Business valuation is a prophecy of the future. That is, investors typically value a business based on its ability to generate future cash flow. However, with so many uncertainties in the current marketplace, forecasting expected cash flow can be challenging. Income Approach Under the income approach, the value of a business interest is a function of two variables: 1.  Expected economic benefits. 2.  A discount rate based on the risk of the business. Economic benefits can take many forms, such as earnings… Read more ›

Under today’s federal income tax rules, your small business may be able to claim big first-year depreciation write-offs for eligible assets that are placed in service in the current tax year. But that strategy might not be right for every small business every year. Here’s what you should know before claiming 100% first-year bonus depreciation or first-year Section 179 deductions. First-Year Depreciation Breaks The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) included two generous first-year depreciation tax breaks for business taxpayers:… Read more ›

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides roughly $2 trillion of much-needed financial relief, including tax relief, to individuals and businesses. This relief is in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. One CARES Act provision temporarily relaxes the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) limitation on deductions for business interest expense. Here’s the story. TCJA Limitation on Business Interest Expense Deductions Before the TCJA, some corporations were subject to the so-called “earnings stripping” rules. Those rules attempted… Read more ›

Authored By: Jane Ochsman Rowny, CPA, CFP®, CDFA® and Jordan P. Egert, CPA, CFE, CDFA® COVID-19 is likely to be with us for many months to come. The pandemic has created new uncertainties and financial stressors. Couples who have contemplated a split up may be reluctant to add to the stress and uncertainty by commencing with a divorce, however continuing to live in limbo unhappily may be an option couples may not want to accept. Whether you begin divorce proceedings… Read more ›

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused many businesses to temporarily shut down or scale back operations. Slowly, states are allowing businesses to reopen to the public. But it may be too late for some businesses to bounce back. When the economy went into lockdown mode, some small businesses — including certain brick-and-mortar boutiques, niche manufacturers and family-owned restaurants — were already struggling and lacked financial resources to weather the downturn. And federal relief efforts weren’t enough to cover their… Read more ›