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.
Germaine Cota, CPA, is senior vice president of finance & accounting at BILL.
Jacob T. Crowley, CPA, is an assistant professor of accounting at the James F. Dicke College of Business Administration of Ohio Northern University. Prior to joining the faculty at ONU, he was an auditor in the Deloitte Cleveland office focusing on manufacturing and landscaping services. He teaches principles of accounting, intermediate financial accounting, auditing, accounting information systems, and is the capstone program coordinator at ONU. He performs research on audit quality, accounting pedagogy, and NCAA college athletics. He is a certified public accountant in the state of Ohio and a member of the board of directors of the North American Accounting Society.
Ashley Monaco is a professional assistant professor of accounting at Walsh University. She holds CPA and CFE licenses, as well as a master's degree in forensic accounting from Ohio Northern University. Before joining the university, she worked as an auditor for a midsized firm. She also serves as the advisor for the university's accounting club and is actively involved in fostering connections between academia and industry.
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.