Tax Alerts Archives - Wiss & Company, LLP

Breaking Down the Employee Retention Credit in the New COVID Relief Bill

Written on January 6, 2021. Posted in State & Local Tax Services, Tax, Tax Alerts.

By Ilya Brodetskiy, Tax Manager Some significant updates are affecting the Employee Retention Credit, but there are still some important unknowns. Businesses that were ineligible for the ERC because they applied for PPP funding or who had over 100 full-time employees should reevaluate their eligibility based on the expanded program. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 introduced major changes to the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). The first change allows businesses that...

Show me the money…again! Congress agrees to $900B Emergency Coronavirus Relief Act of 2020

Written on December 21, 2020. Posted in General Business, State & Local Tax Services, Tax Alerts.

By Nicole DeRosa, CPA, MAcc, Senior Tax Manager, and Travis Miskowitz, Manager, CFO Advisory Congressional leaders are close to finalizing the next round of stimulus, referred to as the Emergency Coronavirus Relief Act of 2020 providing for $900 billion in government funds aimed at supporting small businesses and the ailing economy. The coronavirus relief bill is expected to pass with bi-partisan support, and the President is expected to sign the bill into law quickly. The relief...

Unintended Effect of PPP Loan Forgiveness: Reduction in R&D Credit

Written on November 19, 2020. Posted in Tax, Tax Alerts.

By Travis Miskowitz, Manager, CFO Advisory The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) provides loans to small and mid-size businesses to cover payroll and other specific costs during the coronavirus pandemic. PPP loans may be forgiven under particular circumstances, and are typically excluded from taxable income. Sounds simple—and if you focus on the question of payroll costs, it is. But companies that are interested...

Treasury and IRS Issue Guidance on Deductibility of Expenses Related to a PPP Loan

Written on November 19, 2020. Posted in State & Local Tax Services, Tax, Tax Alerts.

By Michael Bodrato, Director of Taxes The US Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released guidance on November 18, 2020, in Rev. Rul. 2020-27 and Rev. Proc. 2020-51, clarifying the tax treatment of expenses where a loan received under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) has not been forgiven by the end of the year in which the loan was received. The IRS clarified in a notice issued on May 18, 2020, that since under the CARES Act businesses are not taxed on the proceeds...

How a Biden Administration May Change the Tax Landscape

Written on November 11, 2020. Posted in State & Local Tax Services, Tax, Tax Alerts.

By Laurie Smith With the presidential election in our rearview window (barely), next up on everyone’s mind is how president-elect Joe Biden’s tax proposals may impact you. Before we get into the details of some key proposals and planning opportunities, it is important to note there are still many unknowns. Crucially, it will not be clear until early-to-mid-January 2021 which party will control the Senate, the result of two run-off races in Georgia taking place on January 5. The outcome...

What Federal Tax Policy Changes Can We Expect? Clues From the Campaign Trail

Written on October 28, 2020. Posted in Tax, Tax Alerts.

By Michael LaMotta By this time next week, the U.S. presidential election will be in the rearview mirror, and we’ll all have more questions than we have answers. One of those big questions will be: What is the new president-elect’s vision for the tax code? Neither of the candidates has laid out a formal, detailed plan for this, although they have left clues about some aspects of tax policy along the campaign trail. Tax policy is an underappreciated element of federal policy; considering...

IRS Issues Guidance Addressing President Trump’s Order on Payroll Tax Deferral

Written on August 31, 2020. Posted in Tax, Tax Alerts.

By Michael Bodrato Presidential Memorandum On August 8th, President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum to direct the Treasury Secretary to use his authority to defer the withholding, deposit and payment of certain payroll taxes from employees suffering under the economic hardships brought about by the Coronavirus Pandemic. The President’s order is made applicable to wages and compensation paid during the period of September 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020, and is subject...

Get To Know Federal Tax Form 5471, and The Post-2017 Revisions

Written on August 7, 2020. Posted in State & Local Tax Services, Tax, Tax Alerts.

By Mary Vasilescu The IRS collects information about foreign corporations with substantial United States (U.S.) ownership interests using Federal Tax Form 5471, Information Return for U.S. Persons With Respect to Certain Foreign Corporations. Form 5471 is used by certain U.S. persons who are officers, directors, or shareholders of certain foreign corporations to satisfy the reporting required under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and the related Treasury Regulations. Beware Hefty...

Expenses Relating to PPP Forgiveness are Nondeductible

Written on May 4, 2020. Posted in Financial Planning, Tax, Tax Alerts.

By Evan Gernant On Thursday, April 30, the IRS issued Notice 2020-32 clarifying that to the extent a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan is forgiven, the associated expenses will be nondeductible for federal tax purposes. The CARES Act made it clear that any amount of forgiveness of a PPP loan would be non-taxable. What was not addressed and left for interpretation was whether the associated expenses would be tax-deductible. Many were hopeful for a better ruling from the IRS...

Net Operating Losses Under the CARES Act

Written on April 10, 2020. Posted in Tax, Tax Alerts.

By Evan Gernant On Thursday, April 9, the IRS issued guidance on the treatment of net operating losses under the provisions of the CARES Act. Revenue Procedure 2020-24 provides procedures to elect to revoke the carryback period for NOLs arising in 2018 and/or 2019 Background: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changed the treatment of NOLs. It generally provided that NOLs arising in tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 were no longer permitted to be carried back and are deductible...