CARES Act

TOPICS / COVID-19

April 13, 2020

Key facts about the Fed’s $2.3 trillion loan initiative

CPAs should pay careful attention to the new $600 billion Main Street Lending Program for small and midsize businesses and a couple of tweaks that might encourage more banks to participate in the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program.

April 13, 2020

Business interest expense election guidance for farming, real estate

Real property or farming trades or businesses can withdraw their decision to elect out of Sec. 163(j)’s business interest expense limitation for a 2018, 2019, or 2020 tax year.

April 10, 2020

IRS launches tool for nonfilers to receive stimulus payments

The IRS has launched an online portal for taxpayers who are eligible to receive an economic impact payment but who are not normally required to file an income tax return because their income is too low.

April 10, 2020

Guidance on NOL carryback and tentative carryback adjustments

The IRS issued procedures to elect to forgo net operating loss carryback and extension of time to file tentative carryback adjustments.

April 8, 2020

Partnerships can file amended returns to get CARES Act benefits

To allow those partnerships to take advantage of the beneficial tax provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the IRS is allowing partnerships to file amended returns for 2018 or 2019.

April 6, 2020

CPAs providing billable advisory services to small business may not want to be an agent

The AICPA issued a statement clarifying that the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act prohibits CPAs and accounting firms from collecting fees from small business clients they help apply for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

April 3, 2020

Financial institutions using CARES Act deferrals won’t violate GAAP, SEC says

Companies that elect to defer or suspend FASB rules for credit losses or troubled debt restructurings in accordance with the CARES Act will not be found in violation of GAAP.

April 2, 2020

Social Security recipients will automatically receive stimulus payments

The IRS announced that Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefit recipients will not have to file a tax return to receive the $1,200 stimulus payment provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

April 1, 2020

Employer tax credits form, employee retention credit guidance posted

The IRS issued a new form and instructions for employers to use to obtain advance payments of three tax credits that were created to help businesses cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

March 31, 2020

Recovery rebate payments to be issued within 3 weeks

The IRS has issued guidance on these payments, which it calls “economic impact payments,” and says they generally will be direct-deposited to most qualifying taxpayers’ bank accounts in the next three weeks without taxpayers having to do anything.

March 27, 2020

CARES Act tax provisions aim to stabilize pandemic-ravaged economy

The $2 trillion stimulus bill contains many tax provisions. Here’s a look at the tax items, which range from credits to temporary changes to retirement plan rules.

March 26, 2020

CARES Act would delay compliance with FASB credit loss standard

The federal economic stimulus bill passed by the Senate delays the date by which financial institutions are required to comply with FASB’s new accounting standard for credit losses.

FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Clean data faster using Excel’s REGEX functions

Excel’s REGEX functions provide a simpler, flexible solution to text-cleaning tasks, reducing the need to combine multiple functions when cleaning imported data. This JofA Technology Q&A article shows the way with step-by-step instructions and a video walkthrough.