News
Coronavirus Resources
MKG will continuously post new information as it becomes available for our clients. Please check back often.
- For resource information pertaining to Small Business click here: Small Business
- For resource information pertaining to Unemployment click here: Unemployment
- For resource information pertaining to specific Tax Acts click here: Tax Acts
January 15, 2021
Michigan Small Business Survival Grants to provide critical relief
The Michigan Small Business Survival Grant Program will provide $55 million in grants to meet the urgent need of Michigan small businesses that have experienced a significant financial hardship due to the recent COVID-19 emergency “gatherings and face mask orders.” Grants of up to $20,000 will be awarded to businesses that are fully closed, with grants of up to $15,000 awarded to businesses that have been partially closed, or otherwise are open and can demonstrate an impact.
Michigan Small Business Survival Grant: A single, statewide application for the program will be live at michiganbusiness.org/survival on 9:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday, January 19 through 12:00 p.m. (noon) EST on Friday, January 22.
Businesses must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- Had 1 to 100 employees (including full-time, part-time and owner/employees) on a world-wide basis on November 17, 2020.
- Is in an industry that demonstrates it is affected by the DHHS epidemic orders.
- Needs working capital to support payroll expenses, rent, mortgage payments, utility expenses, or other similar expenses.
- Can demonstrate an income loss as a result of the Order as determined by the EDO in which an eligible business is located.
- Is not a live music and entertainment venue that is eligible for the Michigan Stage Survival grant program.
MSF also approved the $3.5 million Michigan Stages Survival Grant Program, which will provide up to $40,000 in one-time grants to eligible Michigan live music and entertainment venues that have experienced a significant financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Michigan Stages Survival Grant: Applications will be available at www.michiganbusiness.org/stages starting at 9:00 a.m. EST on Thursday, January 21- 12:00 p.m. (noon) EST on Thursday, January 28, 2021.
Venues must meet eligibility requirements that include
- Be located in the state of Michigan.
- Produce and/or present live, disciplined-based performance experiences.
- Demonstrate at least 33 percent of 2019 gross revenues are from the sale of tickets for live music or entertainment events OR receive at least 70 percent of its earned revenue through cover charges or tickets sales, production fees or production reimbursements, nonprofit educational initiatives, or the sale of event beverages, food or merchandise.
- Demonstrate second quarter revenues from April 1- June 30, 2020 were not greater than 10% of second quarter revenue from April 1-June 30, 2019.
- Employ less than 30 full time employees.
A full list of application and eligibility requirements is available at michiganbusiness.org/stages.
December 29, 2020
Consolidated Appropraitions Act, 2021
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 was signed by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on December 21, 2020 and was signed by the President on December 27, 2020. The key provisions in regards to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) grants are as follows:
- Ensures tax deductibility for business expenses paid with forgiven PPP loans
- Creates a simplified loan forgiveness application process for loans of $150,000 or less
- Repeals the requirement that PPP borrowers deduct the amount of any EIDL advance from their PPP forgiveness amount
- Provides additional funds for a second round of PPP loans which will be available for first-time qualified borrowers and to businesses that previously received a PPP loan
- First-time qualified borrowers includes:
- Businesses with 500 or fewer employees that are eligible for other SBA 7(a) loans
- Sole proprietors, independent contractors, and eligible self-employed individuals
- Not-for-profits, including churches
- Accommodation and food service operations (those with North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) codes starting with 72) with fewer than 300 employees per physical location
- Previous PPP recipients may apply for another loan provided they:
- Have 300 or fewer employees
- Have used or will use the full amount of their first PPP loan
- Can show a 25% gross revenue decline in any 2020 quarter compared with the same quarter in 2019
- In addition to the eligible costs for loan forgiveness such as payroll, rent, covered mortgage interest, and utilities, the new act also makes the following potentially forgivable:
- Covered worker protection and facility modification expenditures, including personal protective equipment, to comply with COVID-19 federal health and safety guidelines
- Expenditures to suppliers that are essential at the time of purchase to the recipient’s current operations
- Covered operating costs such as software and cloud computing services and accounting needs
- The same parameters for full loan forgiveness applies (borrowers will have to spend no less than 60% of the funds on payroll over a covered period of either 8 or 24 weeks)
- Borrowers in accommodation and food service operations may apply for up to 3.5 times their average monthly payroll costs
- The maximum loan amount allowed for this round is $2,000,000
Check back for likely additional changes and clarification in the coming weeks.
December 7, 2020
Pure Michigan Small Business Relief Initiative
The Pure Michigan Small Business Relief Initiative will utilize federal CARES Act funding to provide $10 million in grants to meet the urgent need of Michigan small businesses disproportionately impacted the COVID-19 virus. Applications for businesses to apply will open on December 15, 2020 at 9:00a.m.
Grants will be awarded in the amount of up to $15,000 per eligible business on a "first-in" basis. Grant funds will assist eligible small businesses directly impacted by COVID-19 meet urgent working capital needs including payroll expenses, rent or mortgage payments and utility expenses.
For the full list of requirements and for more information, please review the following document : Small Business Relief FAQ's.
November 23, 2020
IRS Clarifies Stance On No Deductibility Of Expenses Paid With PPP Funds
On November 18, 2020, the IRS issued Rev. Rul. 2020-27, which addresses the issue of borrowers who pay expenses in 2020 but whose PPP loan is not forgiven until 2021. The Rev. Rul. directs that a taxpayer who received a Paycheck Protection Program loan and paid otherwise deductible expenses with the proceeds, may not deduct those expenses in the year they were incurred if the taxpayer reasonably expects to receive forgiveness of the loan.
In short, even if forgiveness hasn't happened, borrowers can't deduct expenses paid for with PPP funds if they reasonably believe the loan will be forgiven.
The IRS says that "the fact that the tax-exempt income may not have been accrued or received by the end of the taxable year does not change this result because the disallowance applies whether or not any amount of tax-exempt income in the form of covered loan forgiveness and to which the eligible expenses are allocable is received or accrued."
See the Rev. Rul. 2020-27 in full here.
November 17, 2020
SBAM administering at least $3M in grants from LEO to help small businesses weather the cold
To help small businesses successfully navigate the winter ahead and prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Small Business Association of Michigan is partnering with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) to administer at least $3 million in weatherization grants to assist qualified small businesses with expanding outdoor capacity during the cold weather months. Eligible businesses may apply to receive between $1,000 – $10,000 in funding for weatherized, temporary outdoor facilities, while eligible municipalities and local organizations may apply to receive up to $15,000. Click here to learn more about Weatherization Grants. Ready to apply? Submit your application here beginning November 18, 2020 at noon EST.
October 5, 2020
Tax Policies of the Major Presidential Candidates
In our ongoing effort to supply our clients with up to date information,we are providing the following summary describing the current tax plans of President Donald Trump and Presidential Candidate Joe Biden. It is strictly an informational summary for your planning and consideration.While this is just a brief overview, we hope that it paints a clearer picture of the changes that we may see after the 2020 election.
Please click here for current Tax Policies of the Major Presidential Candidates.
August 18, 2020
13.9 million Americans to receive IRS tax refund interest; taxable payments to average $18
This week the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service will send interest payments to about 13.9 million individual taxpayers who timely filed their 2019 federal income tax returns and are receiving refunds.
This year's COVID-19-related July 15 due date is considered a disaster-related postponement of the filing deadline and the IRS is required, by law, to pay interest, calculated from the original April 15 deadline. The interest payments, averaging about $18, will be made to individual taxpayers who filed a 2019 return by this year's July 15 deadline and either received a refund in the past three months or will receive a refund.
By law, these interest payments are taxable and taxpayers who receive them must report the interest on the 2020 federal income tax return they file next year.
Learn more here.
August 13, 2020
Employee Retention Credit Eligibility Tool
The Employee Retention Credit is a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes equal to 50 percent of the qualified wages an eligible employer pays to employees after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021. For each employee, wages up to $10,000 can be counted to determine the amount of the 50% credit.
Employers, including tax-exempt organizations, are eligible for the credit if they operate a trade or business during calendar year 2020 and experience either:
- the full or partial suspension of the operation of their trade or business during any calendar quarter because of governmental orders limiting commerce, travel, or group meetings due to COVID-19, or
- a significant decline in gross receipts.
The credit applies to qualified wages (including certain health plan expenses) paid during this period or any calendar quarter in which operations were suspended.
The following are not eligible for the credit:
- Employers that received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan
- Wages that received a FFCRA credit for paid sick and family leave
- Employees that are allowed a Work Opportunity Tax Credit
- Wages that receive a credit under the paid family and medical leave act
To see if your business qualifies, click here for the Employee Retention Credit Eligibility Tool and answer a few short questions to instantly receive recommendations.
If you have any questions, please contact our office and we would be happy to assist you.
August 6, 2020
Paycheck Protection Program FAQ's on Loan Forgiveness
View here.
July 24, 2020
Michigan Small Business Restart Program
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is administering the Small Business Restart Program that is providing grants up of $20,000 for working capital to support payroll expenses, rent, mortgage payments, utility expenses, and other similar expenses. To be eligible a business or nonprofit must have 50 or fewer employees, have a need for working capital and demonstrate an income loss as a result of the COVID-19 emergency. Businesses that received support from other COVID-19 relief programs, such as PPP or EIDL loans, are eligible to apply.
The application period is from July 15 to August 5, 2020, and expenses eligible must be incurred between March 1, 2020 and December 30, 2020.
At least 30% of the funds awarded will be to women-owned, minority owned, or veteran owned eligible businesses.
You can find the application and other information at https://www.michiganbusiness.org/restart.
Michigan Small Business Restart Program - Guidelines
FAQs for Michigan Small Business Restart Program
Michigan Small Business Relief Grant Application FAQ's
If you have any questions, please contact our office and we can assist you.
June 5, 2020
Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act, H.R. 7010
The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (PPPFA) was signed into law on June 5, 2020. The purpose of this bill is to ease the forgiveness requirements for the Paycheck Protection Program loans. Loan recipients will have looser restrictions as to how and when the funds need to be spent.
Learn more here.
May 19, 2020: SBA and Treasury Release Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness Application
Learn more here: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1010
May 13, 2020: Payroll Protection Program FAQs - updated regularly:
April 14, 2020: IRS Economic Impact Payments Learn more here
Additional resources:
State of Michigan Coronavirus Resources
Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency
April 1, 2020: Individual Tax Relief Provided by the CARES Act
An update on the tax-related provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act
Read here
March 30, 2020: Economic impact payments: What you need to know
View here
March 21 and March 27, 2020
IRS and Michigan extend April 15 tax filing and payment deadline.
Federal: The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service announced today that the federal income tax filing due date is automatically extended from April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020.
Taxpayers can also defer federal income tax payments due on April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020, without penalties and interest, regardless of the amount owed. This deferment applies to all taxpayers, including individuals, trusts and estates, corporations and other non-corporate tax filers as well as those who pay self-employment tax.
State: Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed an executive order (EO 2020-26) that will extend the state tax filing and payment deadline amid the coronavirus pandemic from April 15, 2020 to July 15, 2020. This decision comes over a week after the IRS pushed back the federal tax filing deadline to July 15, 2020, and the state of Michigan has now committed to follow suit allowing residents and businesses additional time to file their income taxes.
*This includes Michigan cities as well. An annual city income tax return otherwise due on April 15 or 30, 2020, and any accompanying city income tax payment due with the return, will instead be due on July 15 or 31, 2020.
Link: https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/0,9309,7-387-90499_90705-523380--,00.html
March 24, 2020: Office Closure
Due to Michigan governor’s “stay at home” order due to the coronavirus pandemic, our offices will be closed until April 13, 2020.
Our professionals are temporarily working remotely, to protect the health and safety of our colleagues and clients. We remain committed to delivering quality service to our clients. E-mail will be the most efficient way to contact us and you can find this information here: MKG Email addresses.
To protect both our staff and our clients against virus spread, we are recommending that where possible, we conduct information sharing using electronic options. To provide us with documents, you can send items through our Client Portal, available on our website. We are also available to provide your completed tax return via portal as well. To get set up on the portal please email abrazelton@mkgpc.com or call either office. Click here for Portal information
