Tax Update amid Virus Outbreak 4
Dear Friends and Family,
Thank you all for such kind and encouraging words. Your feedback has not been taken lightly. We appreciate you so much! Everyone at the firm is healthy and we continue to take steps to make sure it stays that way. We have friends taking care of us too. THANK YOU!
We continue to receive your tax documentation VIA all kinds of electronic media. Please be reminded that we would prefer you not send tax sensitive data through email. Open email is susceptible to interception and fraud. We do not want your identity compromised. If you need assistance transmitting data, please let us know and we will be happy to assist you. We do have staff in the office on a rotating basis. We will come to your vehicle to collect documents if you would like to bring them to the office. Please call ahead to make sure someone is ready to meet you when you arrive.
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans:
Where do we start? The CARES Act, signed by the President Friday afternoon, March 27th, created a loan program for small businesses. I am sure you have seen emails and details at nauseum. We will hit the highlights and lowlights! The loans are to be administered through the SBA loan programs and processed locally at participating banks. The PPP loans should not be confused with the SBA Emergency Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). They are two different loan programs.
The latest information for PPP is available at the following link:
https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/top-priorities/cares-act/assistance-for-small-businesses
At least for now….
With much anticipation, US Treasury released the first version of the PPP loan application Tuesday, March 31. We reviewed it and immediately knew there were issues. The application completely left off the provision for refinancing EIDL loans. Treasury re-issued the application about mid-night Thursday, April 2, only minutes before the program was to go live. There were even revisions during the day Friday.
On Friday, the banking industry, after only 4 days to prepare, began accepting applications. But only a few banks came on-line that early (with great confusion). Throughout Friday, US Treasury and the SBA continued to tweak interpretation of CARES. Most banks who opened to early applications did not know what information to request from customers. Most banks decided to only accept applications from clients who already have a banking relationship with them. There has been massive confusion over the proper payroll reporting periods and “lookback” provisions. Every bank seems to be asking for different information as evidence for the loan amounts. And don’t get me started about the Authorized Business Representative portion of the application.
Several clients have requested help with PNC loan applications that went live in the wee hours of Saturday morning. The application was arduous and crashed continuously. One client spent more than 15 hours on Sunday completing the application, but waited to submit, only to find the application process had completely changed overnight. They restarted this morning.
We have been inundated with phone calls about the program. We are assisting in every way possible. Unfortunately, sometimes the answer right now is, “I don’t know.”
Oh, how I long for the days of worry about rental property depreciation schedules (see me later for an explanation of that one too).
We are all in this together,
Shawn G. Sumrall, CPA
Guiding those we encounter to success.