Tax

From what we know, when lawmakers originally passed the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), they thought that under its provisions,

• you did not pay taxes on the forgiveness amount, and
• you also could deduct the expenses that you paid with the PPP money.

Fly in the Ointment 

In late April, the IRS issued Notice 2020-32, which asserts that PPP loan recipients may not deduct business expenses paid using the PPP monies that gave rise to forgiveness (defined payroll, rent, utilities, and interest).

Lawmakers’ Take 

In a May 5, 2020, letter to Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Senator Chuck Grassley (chairman of the Committee on Finance), Senator Ron Wyden (ranking member on the Committee on Finance), and Congressman Richard E. Neal (chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means) jointly stated that the IRS got this wrong and that the intent of the CARES Act was for the PPP to be a tax-free grant.

The letter makes sense. You can read it here.

The Do-Nothings

The IRS was unmoved by the lawmakers’ letter. The IRS position was clear: no deduction for the expenses paid with the PPP money. The IRS understood that perhaps lawmakers didn’t mean that to happen, but in the eyes of the IRS, the way that the lawmakers enacted the law created the problem. To fix it, lawmakers simply need to pass a new law.

Frankly, we thought that lawmakers would pass a new law and take care of this problem. But no, that has not happened.

New Nails in the Coffin

On November 18, 2020, the IRS drove two new nails into the coffin regarding deductions for PPP monies that were forgiven and spent on payroll, rent, interest, or utilities.

• Nail 1. In Revenue Ruling 2020-27, the IRS ruled that you may not deduct expenses paid with the PPP loan monies if you have received or expect to receive forgiveness of those loan monies.
• Nail 2. In Revenue Procedure 2020-51, the IRS set forth safe-harbor procedures to follow if your PPP forgiveness is subsequently denied or if you decide not to apply for forgiveness.

With the rulings described above, the IRS has clarified its position and clearly stated to lawmakers: if you don’t like the non-deductibility of expenses paid with PPP monies, change the law.

What to Do Now

Join with hundreds of thousands of business taxpayers and tax professionals who are urging lawmakers to fix the non-deductibility issue.

To help encourage the action you desire (whether you’re for or against deductibility), get in touch with your state’s lawmakers.

• S. 3612 is the Senate bill to make the PPP forgiveness money used to pay business expenses tax-deductible. To express your yea or nay on S. 3612, contact your senators. You can find them at this link: https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact. 
• H.R. 6821 is the House bill to make the PPP forgiveness money used to pay business expenses tax-deductible. To express your yea or nay on H.R. 6821, contact your representative. You can find him or her at this link: https://www.house.gov/representatives. 

You don’t need to be big and formal about your yea or nay. You can fax, email, or phone and simply say you support or oppose the bill. It’s that easy—and it’s effective. Do it.

If you would like to discuss the effect nondeductibility has on your taxes, please call me on my direct line at 408-778-9651.

• By Leon Clinton
• December 22, 2020

If you own your own business and operate as a proprietorship or partnership (wherein your spouse is not a partner), one of the smartest tax moves you can make is hiring your spouse to work as your employee. 

But the tax savings may be a mirage if you don’t pay your spouse the right way. And the arrangement is subject to attack by the IRS if your spouse is not a bona fide employee.

Here are four things you should know before you hire your spouse that will maximize your savings and minimize the audit risk.

1. Pay benefits, not wages. The way to save on taxes is to pay your spouse with tax-free employee benefits, not taxable wages. Benefits such as health insurance are fully deductible by you as a business expense, but not taxable income for your spouse. 

Also, if you pay a spouse only with tax-free fringe benefits, you need not pay payroll taxes, file employment tax returns, or file a W-2 for your spouse. 

2. Establish a medical reimbursement arrangement. The most valuable fringe benefit you can provide your spouse-employee is reimbursement for health insurance and uninsured medical expenses. You can accomplish this through a 105-HRA plan if your spouse is your sole employee, or an Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Account (ICHRA) if you have multiple employees.

3. Provide benefits in addition to health coverage.There are many other tax-free fringe benefits you can provide your spouse in addition to health insurance, including education related to your business, up to $50,000 of life insurance, and de minimis fringes such as gifts. 

4. Treat your spouse as a bona fide employee. For your arrangement to withstand IRS scrutiny, you must be able to prove that your spouse is your bona fide employee. You’ll have no problem if:

• you are the sole owner of your business,
• your spouse does real work under your direction and control and keeps a timesheet,
• you regularly pay your spouse’s medical and other reimbursable expenses from your separate business checking account, and
• your spouse’s compensation is reasonable for the work performed.

If you have any further questions or need my assistance, please call me on my direct line at 408-778-9651.

• By Leon Clinton
• December 19, 2020

As you likely know by now, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan and its forgiveness process have been an ever-changing (and often confusing) ride so far. 

With the new rules for PPP loans of $50,000 or less, you escape from the most difficult part of the loan forgiveness if you had to consider employees. 

And you may even obtain more loan forgiveness than you would have otherwise.

Before

Before the $50,000-or-less rule, you had to either suffer a reduction in loan forgiveness or meet one of the many exceptions that allowed you to

• cut annual salaries or hourly wages by more than 25 percent, and/or
• reduce the average number of employees or average hours paid.

After

Now, with a PPP loan of $50,000 or less, you don’t have to consider the myriad rules about employees. Regardless of what you did with your employees, you qualify for full forgiveness if

• your PPP loan is for $50,000 or less,
• you spent the PPP money on costs that are eligible for forgiveness, and
• at least 60 percent of the forgiveness is for qualified payroll costs (including defined payroll for owners).

Example. Henry obtained a PPP loan of $34,000 based on his 2019 Schedule C income and pay to his part-time employee. When COVID-19 hit, Henry laid off his part-time worker and has not rehired him. Using SBA Form 3508S and the 24-week covered period, Henry qualifies for 100 percent forgiveness of his $34,000 loan because he spent $20,833 (61 percent) on the deemed payroll to himself and the remainder on five months’ rent and utilities.

Planning note. Henry is not an employee of his Schedule C business. He receives no W-2 income. But the PPP rules deem Henry’s 2019 Schedule C profits as his payroll for PPP loan purposes. The rules cap the Schedule C taxpayer’s loan amount and forgiveness at a maximum of $20,833 when Schedule C income is $100,000 or more.

If you would like my help with your PPP loan forgiveness application, please call me on my direct line at 408-778-9651.

• By Leon Clinton
• December 17, 2020