On March 27 the CARES Act was signed into law, which brought about a number of tax law changes that benefit taxpayers even back to the 2018 tax year. As with most major law changes, questions abound as to how the law should be implemented and what procedures should be followed to claim the tax benefits. The IRS has begun issuing guidance that answers a number of ques [...]

The GHJ team had an opportunity on April 13 to speak with a Washington insider about issues of interest to the firm’s clients. Below are the latest insights: PPP Forgiveness Guidance: The Small Business Administration (SBA) has until 30 days past the March 27, 2020 enactment of the CARES Act to provide guidance and rulemaking on all matters relating to the PPP. GHJ e [...]

The Internal Revenue Service released Notice 2020-23 in which it expands the tax filing relief to tax exempt organizations. An automatic extension has been provided until July 15, 2020. In the body of the notice there are specific forms and payments that are listed out such as: Form 990-T: Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return and paymentsForm 990-PF: Priva [...]

In a time of crisis it may be tempting to consider establishing a new nonprofit organization to accept and disburse charitable donations. Resist the urge! In general, working with and supporting existing charitable organizations is a more effective use of disaster relief resources. Community funds like the United Way and Feeding America have existing targeted disas [...]

This morning the Treasury began implementing the Main Street Lending Program for mid-sized companies. In another section of the CARES Act, the Main Street Lending Program, there will be $600 billion in new funds made available to borrowers. The original Act intended lending be made available to borrowers with employee sizes 500-10,000. Today’s information sheet elim [...]

The California local government and county assessors do not have the authority to extend the April 10 property tax deadline because this can only be done by legislative act or executive order. However, beginning on April 11, taxpayers unable to pay on time for reasons related to COVID-19 may submit a request for penalty cancellation. Los Angeles has a special team set [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a huge disruption for just about every industry around the world. Brands, especially those deemed to be “nonessential,” have seen significant decreases in monthly revenues. With some experiencing a near stand-still in revenue generating activities. This puts brands in a delicate position, as they know that they cannot stop advertising if [...]

The stay-at-home order amidst the COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly launched the world’s largest remote-working experiment. Over the past weeks, we have seen organizations, including our clients and our own firm, spring into action to adapt to running either a partial or a completely remote operation. GHJ has been fielding questions in the process as our clients put new [...]

As we know, Friday, April 3, 2020 was the first day for small businesses to be able to apply for the Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) with some big banks rocking and rolling and some others slow to get out of the blocks. Slow Start As of the morning of April 3, Bank of America was the only big bank to start accepting applications. In fact, the bank has reportedly al [...]

Last night, the Treasury Department released a series of frequently asked questions to clarify certain provisions of the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) to applicants. These are: For the purposes of calculating payroll costs and headcount, there was ambiguity about the correct time period that should be used. The clarification allows an applicant to use either t [...]