The U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate have passed the Coronavirus Response & Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, and President Trump is expected to sign the bill immediately. The agreement comes after weeks of negotiations and two funding extensions to keep Congress open until a bill was passed with a $1.4 trillion government-wide funding plan. The $900 billion coronavirus relief portion includes another round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding, extended unemployment benefits, and direct payments to taxpayers. Here’s an overview of the key provisions in the bill.

Are you thinking about selling stock shares at a loss to offset gains that you’ve realized during 2020? If so, it’s important not to run afoul of the “wash sale” rule.

It’s been estimated that there are roughly 5 million family-owned businesses in the United States. Annually, these companies make substantial contributions to both employment figures and the gross domestic product. If you own a family business, one important issue to address is how to best weave together your succession plan with your estate plan.

In part one of Surviving Adversity: A CEO Panel Discussion, we highlighted the main topics of conversation around revenue following a Printing Industry Midwest (PIM) Financial Executives Council (FEC) meeting. In part two, we’ll cover the discussion by the panelists on how they’ve adapted the way they manage their graphic arts business in light of COVID-19, including the impact to staffing and internal processes.  

Unless Congress acts soon, many small businesses may be hit with an unexpected tax bill related to PPP loans. Join us in supporting the AICPA’s efforts to push for deductibility of PPP-funded expenses! Take action by writing to your Congressman to request PPP expense deductions be allowed. To make it easy, the AICPA has drafted an email that you can use.

This webinar addresses the latest changes to the PPP loan forgiveness program, the various applications available, and the process for completion and submission. The information provided in this presentation is current as of November 19, 2020. It is intended for general informational purposes only. Consult with your financial advisor about your specific situation.

On Nov. 18, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service released additional guidance regarding the deductibility of expenses paid using proceeds from a PPP loan. The new guidance states that if a taxpayer received a PPP loan and paid or incurred usually deductible expenses with the loan proceeds, those expenses are not deductible if the taxpayer has a reasonable expectation that they will receive forgiveness. The expenses paid for with PPP loan proceeds are not deductible in the year paid even if forgiveness has not been achieved or applied for by the end of the taxable year. In other words, the expenses are not deductible on taxpayers’ income tax returns that include the covered period. The covered period is either the 8- or 24-week period you elected to spend the loan proceeds.

In a recent Printing Industry Midwest (PIM) Financial Executives Council webinar, a panel of CEOs from several Minnesota printers got together to discuss surviving the adversity, the state of the graphic arts industry, how it’s been impacted, and where to go from here.  

The subject of payroll has been top-of-mind for business owners this year. The COVID-19 pandemic triggered economic changes that caused considerable fluctuations in the size of many companies’ workforces. Employees have been laid off, furloughed and, in some cases, rehired. There has also been crisis relief for eligible businesses in the form of the Paycheck Protection Program and the payroll tax credit. Payroll recordkeeping was important in the “old normal,” but it’s even more important now as businesses continue to navigate their way through a slowly recovering economy and ongoing public health crisis.

October 15 is the deadline for individual taxpayers who extended their 2019 tax returns. (The original April 15 filing deadline was extended this year to July 15 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.) If you’re finally done filing last year’s return, you might wonder: Which tax records can you toss once you’re done? Now is a good time to go through old tax records and see what you can discard.

It’s been a year like no other. The sudden impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in March forced every business owner — ready or not — to execute his or her disaster response plan.

As a result of the current estate tax exemption amount ($11.58 million in 2020), many estates no longer need to be concerned with federal estate tax. Before 2011, a much smaller amount resulted in estate plans attempting to avoid it. Now, because many estates won’t be subject to estate tax, more planning can be devoted to saving income taxes for your heirs.

In Notice 2020-71, the IRS recently announced per diem rates that can be used to substantiate the amount of business expenses incurred for travel away from home on or after October 1, 2020.

COVID-19 has changed our lives in many ways, and some of the changes have tax implications. Here is basic information about two common situations.

To say that most small to midsize businesses have at least considered taking out a loan this year would probably be an understatement. The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has lowered many companies’ revenue but may have also opened opportunities for others to expand or pivot into more profitable areas.

If your company needs working capital to grow, rather than simply survive, you might want to consider a mezzanine loan. These arrangements offer relatively quick access to substantial funding but with risks that you should fully understand before signing on the dotted line.