On Thursday afternoon, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, making it into law. The Act includes extensions of enhanced unemployment relief, increased funding for COVID-19 testing and vaccination programs, aid to state and local governments, and assistance to schools to help get students back into classrooms. Several tax provisions are […]

When the Small Business Administration (SBA) launched the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) last year, the program’s stated objective was “to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll.” However, according to federal officials, the recently issued second round of funding has distributed only a small percentage of the $15 billion […]

If you are getting ready to file your 2020 tax return, and your tax bill is higher than you would like, there might still be an opportunity to lower it. If you qualify, you can make a deductible contribution to a traditional IRA right up until the April 15, 2021 filing date and benefit from […]

If you are like many Americans, letters from your favorite charities may be appearing in your mailbox acknowledging your 2020 donations. However, what happens if you have not received such a letter — can you still claim a deduction for the gift on your 2020 income tax return? It depends. What is required? To support […]

Attending college is one of the biggest investments that parents and students ever make. If you or your child (or grandchild) attends (or plans to attend) an institution of higher learning, you may be eligible for tax breaks to help foot the bill. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, which was enacted recently, made some changes to […]

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Treasury issued guidance late Wednesday night for the reconstituted Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The guidance came in the form of two interim final rules (IFRs): The IFR “Business Loan Program Temporary Changes; Paycheck Protection Program as Amended”, which consolidates the rules for PPP forgivable loans for first-time borrowers and […]

Many businesses are closed or are limiting third-party access as COVID-19 surges across the United States. These restrictions could still be in place at year-end — a time when external auditors traditionally observe physical inventory counts for calendar-year entities. Here is how you can identify and overcome the challenges associated with inventory counts during the […]

In guidance issued last week, the IRS has clarified the tax treatment of expenses where a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan has not been forgiven by the end of the year the loan was received. Since businesses are not taxed on the proceeds of a forgiven PPP loan, the expenses are not deductible. This results […]

Although planning is needed to help build the biggest possible nest egg in your traditional IRA (including a SEP-IRA and SIMPLE-IRA), it is even more critical that you plan for withdrawals from these tax-deferred retirement vehicles. There are three areas where knowing the fine points of the IRA distribution rules can make a big difference […]

The interim final rule (IFR) released by the Treasury and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) this past October provides guidance concerning forgiveness and loan review processes for PPP loans of $50,000 or less. Under the IFR, PPP borrowers of $50,000 or less are exempted from any reductions in forgiveness based on: Reductions in full-time-equivalent (FTE) […]