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.
Laurent Descout, CEO and co-founder of Neo, is a serial fintech entrepreneur and investor. Previously he has been financial advisor in asset-structured finance for more than 10 years.
Mathias Imbach is the co-founder and group CEO of Sygnum. Prior to Sygnum, he was general manager at RNT Associates, where he led multiple venture capital and private equity investments and participated in blockchain and DLT-related equity deals globally. Mathias started his career at Bain & Company where he led advisory projects for private equity funds, family offices and technology companies. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of St. Gallen and a Master of Science from the London School of Economics, or LSE.
Denise Tyson is the current founder and CEO of Schaefer City Technologies, an award-winning, innovative insurtech company delivering software solutions to help insurance and reinsurance companies and their defense counsel spot and avoid Nuclear Verdicts®. She holds extensive experience in the insurance industry, including insurtech start-ups, mergers/acquisitions, reorganizations, and financially challenging situations.
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.