What the Fed (Round 2)

As  posted to Peak Prosperity.com   on 5/17/2020 Trailer (Run Time: 1 min, 47 sec) Creator-provided description: "Back in mid-January, Grant Williams, Mike Maloney, Charles Hugh Smith, Chris Martenson and Adam Taggart sat down for an in-depth discussion on the dangerous distortions to financial markets and the global economy that central bank intervention is causing. That video, titled WTF: What The Fed?! was released soon after the US Federal Reserve had added $200 billion dollars to its balance sheet in Q4 2019. At the time, we worried that so much liquidity being added to the system so quickly could recklessly exacerbate the extreme overvaluations in the markets, and further increase the instability of our over-indebted economy. Little could we have guessed that a global pandemic would soon ensue, one that...

PPP Loan Forgiven Expenses Aren't Deductible

Did you know that PPP loan forgiven expenses aren't deductible?  The IRS has issued guidance clarifying that certain deductions aren’t allowed if a business has received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. Specifically, an expense isn’t deductible if both: The payment of the expense results in forgiveness of a loan made under the PPP, and The income associated with the forgiveness is excluded from gross income under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. PPP basics The CARES Act allows a recipient of a PPP loan to use the proceeds to pay payroll costs, certain employee healthcare benefits, mortgage interest, rent, utilities and interest on other existing debt obligations. A recipient of a covered loan can receive forgiveness of the loan in an amount equal to...

Amending Returns for Retroactive COVID-19 Tax Relief

The $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) delivers meaningful tax relief to individuals and businesses. Some of that relief is retroactive, which can affect 2018 and 2019 returns that have already been filed. One retroactive provision can, in some cases, go all the way back to 2013.  Here is a summary of the CARES Act retroactive COVID-19 tax relief measures that can potentially benefit you or your business entity after amended returns have been prepared and filed. Taxpayer-friendly Rules for Deducting Net Operating Losses (NOLs) Business activities that generate tax losses can cause you or your business entity to have an NOL for the year. The CARES Act significantly liberalizes the NOL deduction rules and allows NOLs that arise in 2018–2020 to be...

Protect Data and Build Trust with Customers

Every time your business interacts with customers is an opportunity to build trust. And it’s an opportunity you can’t afford to neglect. Look at customer data. When customers hand over personal and financial data to your company, they expect you to do everything in your power to protect it from hackers — as well as non-criminal third parties. If you don’t? Just look at some of the companies affected by major data breaches. Protect data and build trust with customers. Provide fraud notices Unless you run a cash-only business, you collect financial data from you customers every time you process transactions. If you offer credit accounts to business customers, you probably collect even more information. You’re obliged to ensure this data doesn’t fall into the hands of...

When the Fraud Suspect is an Executive

Businesses and fraud experts often face a long, arduous process when investigating any occupational fraud incident. When the fraud suspect is an executive . . . a member of upper management . . . it’s exponentially harder. In theory, investigating executives shouldn’t differ from the process of investigating rank-and-file employees. In reality, the authority and influence of an executive can slow — even shut down — a fraud investigation. You need a plan to prevent interference and facilitate the collection of evidence that can be used in court, if necessary. Human element The first step is to brief the executive’s chain of command. As soon as allegations surface, work with your company’s human resources and legal departments to make the suspect’s superiors aware of the situation. If you...

Guidance on PPP Loan Calculations for Self-Employed Individuals

The Small Business Administration (SBA), in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, has issued guidance to assist businesses in calculating their payroll costs for purposes of determining the amount of a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan businesses can apply for.  Borrowers and lenders may rely on the guidance provided in this document as SBA’s interpretation of the CARES Act and of the Paycheck Protection Program Interim Final Rules. The U.S. government will not challenge lender PPP actions that conform to this guidance and to the PPP Interim Final Rules and any subsequent rulemaking in effect at the time. Questions answered in the guidance related to Schedule C taxpayers are as follows: Self-Employed with No Employees Question: I am self-employed and have no employees, how do I calculate my maximum...

Economic Impact Payment FAQs

Millions of eligible Americans have already received their Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) via direct deposit or paper checks, according to the IRS. Others are still waiting. The payments are part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Here are some answers to Economic Impact Payment FAQs. Who’s eligible to get an EIP? Eligible taxpayers who filed their 2018 or 2019 returns and chose direct deposit of their refunds automatically receive an Economic Impact Payment. You must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien and you can’t be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return. In general, you must also have a valid Social Security number and have adjusted gross income (AGI) under a certain threshold. The IRS also says that automatic payments...

Employment Tax Deposit Deferral FAQs

On its website, IRS has issued FAQs on the deferral of the deposit and payment of the employer's share of Social Security taxes and self-employed individuals to defer payment of certain self-employment taxes that is provided by the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).  These employment tax deposit deferral FAQs will be updated to address additional questions as they arise. 1. What deposits and payments of employment taxes are employers entitled to defer? What may be deferred under the CARES Act are the taxes imposed under §3111(a) and, for Railroad employers, so much of the taxes imposed under §3221(a) as are attributable to the rate in effect under §3111(a) (collectively referred to as the "employer's share of social security tax").   But see FAQ 4 regarding...

CARES Acts Impact on Excess Business Losses

Back in Blog Post #778 on 4/1/20, I summarized the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act tax provisions.  That post included a brief discussion of the CARES Act’s impact on excess business losses.  Here is more about the deferral of, and changes to the limit on, excess business losses. Deferral of the excess business loss limits The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the 2017 Tax Law) provided that net tax losses from active businesses in excess of an inflation-adjusted $500,000 for joint filers, or an inflation-adjusted $250,000 for other covered taxpayers, are to be treated as net operating loss carryforwards in the following tax year. The covered taxpayers are individuals (or estates or trusts) that own businesses directly or as partners in a partnership or...

Get My Payment Application Debuts on IRS.gov

As appearing in e-News for Tax Professionals: Issue Number 2020-16 Working with the Treasury Department, the new Get My Payment application, allowing taxpayers  to check on their Economic Impact Payments, debuted on the IRS website.  The application will answer common questions as an initial round of more than 80 million Economic Impact Payments hits recipients’ bank accounts. Get My Payment will show the projected date when a deposit has been scheduled, similar to the “Where’s My Refund tool” many taxpayers are already familiar with. Get My Payment also allows people to provide their bank account information. People who did not use direct deposit on their last tax return can also use the application to input their bank information to receive the payment by direct deposit, expediting...