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.
Bryan Cannon has over 25 years of investment and financial planning experience. A portion of his clientele includes high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals. Bryan is the host of Markets ‘N5, a bi-weekly video series focused on analyzing market trends based on technical analysis.
Bryan’s career covers a diverse range of investment and securities experience ranging from financial and estate planning for high and ultra-high net worth families, as well as senior and partner roles with both the big Wall Street firms and smaller boutique firms.
Apart from his commitment to understanding each client’s unique needs and implementing strategies that preserve and protect their assets and wealth, Bryan still finds time to remain active in his community. He serves on several local boards, coaches youth soccer, is a Boy Scout Leader, and volunteers with local charities, including assisting the Charlotte Men’s Shelter. In his downtime, he enjoys participating in various fitness and sports activities and enjoying quality time with his family mountain biking and whitewater paddling at the US National Whitewater Center located in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Bryan holds a B.S. in communications and business. In 2018, he became a 5 Star Wealth Manager Award winner.
Candice is a managing director in the Global Client Business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and serves as global head of the Strategic Advisory Solutions team. She focuses on global capital market research, macroeconomic strategy, portfolio construction and client engagement.
Dan Drees serves as the chief growth officer for AvidXchange. He is a fintech expert and industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience helping teams at Fortune 500 companies and financial institutions, such as GE, Bank of America, Ally and Capital One, generate next-level growth. Most recently, he led the fraud and risk solutions business at Fiserv, where he focused on enabling financial institutions and their clients to reduce the cost and complexity associated with fraud and compliance through process automation and the use of next-generation data analytics.
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.