In these truly crazy times as a business owner, there is so much confusion about what to do, how to do it, and what resources you need to get it done. Our mission has been to educate and advise our clients through our website, webinar, and blast emails with the intention to ensure that we provide guidance to as many of our clients and friends as possible.
SBA Lending Update
Congress is currently in negotiations to fund a second round of Payroll Protection Program loans. While this started initially as an additional $250 Billion, it is likely that it will be well over $300 Billion in additional forgivable loans. As there has been backlash over the funding of some large corporation’s subsidiaries that managed to qualify, it is entirely possible that there may be a few more strings for larger companies. That’s good news for all of us as small business owners.
The common thought now is that this second round of funding will go EXTREMELY quickly now that the process has been ironed out. Many banks have customers underwritten and in the queue so that upon the opening of the submissions, many will get sent immediately.
Our advice right now is to put forth the effort with your financial institution of choice and get your application and their required supporting documentation submitted now so that your are in that queue when the submissions start. If your lender was unable to get your financing completed on round one, we may suggest that you seek out a suitable alternative immediately, so that you are ready when this second round goes live.
Alternative Options for Business Owners
To reiterate a few items shared in our webinar (you can go to www.phocuscompanies.com/webinars to view the recording our review the slides) that may be of interest to you as a business owner, you have a few alternative options to the PPP Forgivable loan funding that may help mange your cash flow. Please note that these are NOT AVAILABLE if you have taken out a forgiven PPP loan.
Payroll Tax Deferral
The CARES Act included a provision to allow business to defer the payment of their matching 6.2% social security for all salaries paid from March 23, 2020 through December 31, 2020. Half of this deferred amount will be due in 2021 and the other half in 2022. This applies to S Corps, Partnerships, and Schedule C Filers. If you pay wages and are interested, you must contact your payroll provider to notify them of your desire to do so. If you are a Schedule C, you will make the election upon filing your 2020 income tax return to enact the deferral.
Employee Retention Credit
Part of the FFCRA was the eligibility of an Employee Retention Credit. This credit is available against the payroll taxes for the employers 6.2% share of social security. This credit can apply for wages paid after March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2020 for any employer carrying on a business during 2020. It is available to be calculated based on the lesser of 50% of qualified wages or $10,000 in wages plus health insurance per employee. This credit does not apply to Schedule C Self Employed filers that do not have employees. Please contact your payroll provider to let them know that you are interested in receiving this credit, as they will calculate this as an advanced credit that is reported on your quarterly payroll tax returns and reduces your payroll tax deposits in real time, putting needed funds back into your pocket now.
As always, all of us at Phocus are here to help in any way that we can. Please forward your questions to either Seth (seth@phocuscompanies.com) or Marianne (marianne@phocuscompanies.com) and we will do our very best to get you in the right direction for your business!