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.
Greg is a licensed financial advisor, business consultant and fintech entrepreneur with a mission to teach, inspire and guide people in areas of wealth management, business, marketing, and leadership. Greg is the director of business development for convos, Snappy Kraken’s text messaging program that helps financial advisors build deeper relationships with their prospects and clients to drive business growth and the CEO of Drozdow Financial, his financial education and services group.
With over a decade experience in financial services, Greg has helped hundreds of clients, including individuals, families and executives get to a better place financially, and has worked with some of the top financial institutions in the industry, including VOYA Financial, Penn Mutual and Prudential, to name a few. Through his experience, Greg has focused on helping other advisors on marketing and business strategy and is passionate about advancing technology and systems that improve the financial services industry overall.
Rick Dennen is the founder, president and CEO of Indianapolis-based Oak Street Funding, a First Financial Bank company with customized loan products and services for specialty lines of business including CPAs, registered investment advisors and insurance agents nationwide.
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.