Insights

The American Rescue Plan, 2021 (ARPA, 2021) was signed by President Biden on March 11, 2021 to address the continuing economic impact on small businesses, employers, and employees due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The legislation extends and expands provisions found in the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA), Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA, 2021).

On Wednesday, March 3, 2021, the Small Business Administration (SBA) released new applications with revised calculations for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans specifically for self-employed individuals who file their business operations on Form 1040 Schedule C.

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) established by the CARES Act in March 2020 provided loans to eligible small businesses. If the borrower used the loan proceeds to pay certain eligible expenses, then the amount of the loan up to eligible expenses could be forgiven and the loan forgiveness amount would not be treated as taxable income to the borrower.

As you may know, President Donald Trump sent a memorandum on August 8, 2020 to the Treasury Department to defer collection of the employee portion of Social Security tax from September through the end of 2020 as part of COVID-19 relief. September 1, 2020 marked the first day of the payroll tax “holiday” or deferral period of the employee portion of Social Security tax. On August 28, 2020, the IRS issued guidance to allow employers to suspend withholding and paying eligible employees’ Social Security payroll taxes.

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. Congress, the Executive Branch, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has taken several actions to provide relief to business and individual taxpayers. On March 27, 2020, Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act) to address the economic impact of COVID-19. The CARES Act includes several federal income tax provisions for both businesses and individuals.

In last month’s newsletter, Kristie Adams, CPA, described some of the small business changes that were included in the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act that was signed into law on December 20, 2019. This month, I will discuss some of the provisions in the law that will impact individuals.