Small businesses that manage to get their Paycheck Protection Program loans forgiven may find themselves losing valuable tax breaks, according to new guidance from the Internal Revenue Service.
Companies that qualify for loan forgiveness under legislation Congress approved won’t be able to deduct the wages or other businesses expenses they paid for using the loan, according to an IRS notice published Thursday.
“This treatment prevents a double tax benefit,” the agency said in the notice. “This conclusion is consistent with prior guidance of the IRS.”
The guidance clarifies a point of confusion in the $670 billion small business loan program to help businesses struggling as the coronavirus has brought the economy to a standstill. The law states that the forgiven loan won’t be taxed, but didn’t specify whether companies could still write off the expenses they covered with that money.
Daniel Chu is the founder and CEO of Tricolor.
Torrye Zullo is an associate in the Hunton Andrews Kurth's Insurance Coverage group in the firm's New York office. She represents commercial policyholders in a wide range of complex coverage matters, including property and business interruption claims, directors and officers liability and cyber insurance.
Geoffrey B. Fehling is a Boston-based partner in Hunton Andrews Kurth's Insurance Coverage group. Geoff dedicates his practice to helping companies and their directors and officers maximize insurance recoveries, especially in the area of directors and officers (D&O), professional liability, and management liability insurance. He can be reached at +1 (617) 648-2806 or gfehling@HuntonAK.com.
The tax code permits companies to write off businesses expenses, such as wages, rent and transportation expenses, but generally doesn’t allow write-offs for tax-exempt income.
The ruling adds to the list of stumbling blocks facing businesses as they try to qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program loans.
Small businesses have reported technical issues in trying to apply for the funds, which restarted Monday after the first round of funding ran out after just 13 days.
The program, run by the Small Business Administration, provides funds to cover eight weeks of payroll costs and the loans are forgiven if the employers keep workers on the job or quickly rehire laid-off workers.