March 29th, 2020 4:39 PM by Eric Fang
Good afternoon, All.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law by President Trump.
1. Loans and Grants
There are provisions for grants and loans for business owners and likely landlords in affected areas of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One program is the SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).
- Loans up to $2 million.
- Loan terms are 30 years at 3.75% rate (lower rate for 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations).
- Payments deferred for 12 months.
- No prepayment penalty.
- Funds are to be used for working capital needs.
- From the preliminary information, up to $10,000 may be a grant.
- For rental losses, the state has to make the application to the federal government. It is expected all states will apply.
See the following link to see how to apply for free:
https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela
Select “Economic Injury” in the application.
These loans will take weeks to process. Start soon!
The SBA will likely be overloaded by the applications, which supposedly will be processed on the first-come-first-served basis. Be prepared. Submit a complete package. See the instructions on the website.
2. Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC)
For employers, this will be a payroll tax credit for employee retention.
This is part of the preliminary details for the ERTC:
* The credit is refundable (meaning if the credit fully offsets the payroll tax liabilities, the employer will still get a refund for the overage amount of credit).
* Applicable for all wages paid between March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021.
* Computed on a calendar-quarter basis.
* Equals 50 percent of qualified wages up to $10,000 paid to each employee or $5,000 in actual credit.
* Eligibility for the credit begins with the first 2020 calendar quarter in which the employer’s gross receipts declined by greater than 50 percent of the corresponding calendar quarter of the prior year, and ends with the calendar quarter following the calendar quarter in which the gross receipts exceed 80 percent of the corresponding calendar quarter of the prior year.
* For the purpose of computing the credit, qualified wages paid to an employee during the relevant period may not exceed an amount that would have been paid to such an employee within the preceding 30 days.
* Any eligible employer may elect out of the credit.
* NOT available to Federal or state employers.
* Available to organizations exempt under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.
* This credit will NOT be available to any eligible employer that receives a loan under the Small Business Administration program pursuant to section 7(a) of the Small Business Act.
* Any employer that fails to pay the relevant payroll taxes based on reasonable anticipation of the credit may be relieved of penalties under Section 6656 of the Code.