California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 80 (AB 80) on April 29, 2021 to allow certain businesses to deduct their eligible expenses that were paid with forgiven Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Prior to this new legislation, California did not allow a tax deduction of eligible expenses paid with forgiven PPP loan funds. California did not conform to the federal law that was enacted on December 27, 2020 as part of the ... more
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IRS Extends 2020 Individual Federal Return Filing Due Date
On March 17, 2021, the IRS announced that the federal individual income tax filing due date for 2020 returns will be automatically extended from April 15, 2021 to May 17, 2021. Formal IRS guidance will be issued shortly. The extended due date also applies to the tax payment due with the individual return. No interest or penalties will accrue for tax payments that were due on April 15, 2021 if they were paid by May 17, 2021. However, any required ... more
Employers: Register for the CalSavers Retirement Program
The California State Treasurer’s office has begun sending email reminders to California employers to register for the CalSavers Retirement Savings Program (CalSavers). CalSavers was passed into law in 2016. California employers with five or more employees, and at least one of whom is age 18 or over, are required by state law to participate in CalSavers if they do not offer an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Employers are required to ... more
New IRS Guidance: Non-Deductibility of Expenses Paid with PPP Loans
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) created under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides loan funds to small businesses in order to help them pay eligible expenses (payroll costs, mortgage interest, rent, and utilities). These covered loans are to be fully forgiven and not to be treated as income to the loan recipients as long as the loans are used to pay eligible expenses. While it was clear that a ... more
Nonprofit Purchasing Policy Considerations
Nonprofits have a multitude of compliance standards to juggle, and constructing a comprehensive nonprofit purchasing policy is no exception. Maintaining tax-exempt status requires adherence to very specific behaviors, and written policy should be reviewed periodically to ensure your organization meets or exceeds standards. Under the new procurement standards, all NPOs receiving federal awards must have a written procurement policy that outlines ... more
Webinar Round-Up: Risk Identification Matrix Unveiled
S. Scott Seamands, partner at Lindquist von Husen & Joyce, LLP, and Julie Goldfine, COO/CFO at Mutual Housing California, revealed a risk identification matrix currently under development by our firm that serves as an information network for financial learning in the nonprofit affordable housing industry. After years of interviews and discussions with CFOs about their approach to risk, we are creating this comprehensive tool designed to help ... more
Pandemic Heightens Sustainable Affordable Housing Efforts
Since the PATH Act in 2015, no major federal legislation has come about to address massive shortages in affordable housing across the U.S. While the House and Senate introduced many bills since then, legislation seems to die in committee or across the aisle. Much more legislation is enacted at the state level, but we know that new affordable housing can be a tough sell at the neighborhood level. There is still a public perception that ... more
How Affordable Housing Really Happens: Finance + Community
An article last fall in the New York Times demonstrated what billions can and can’t do to bring about more affordable housing in a large metropolitan area. It can’t, for example, convince community groups to allow development in their neighborhoods or local government leaders to support it. Money alone also can’t ensure that a deal is properly structured to support sustainable affordable housing. Citing efforts by tech giants Apple, Google and ... more
SBA Revises Forms for PPP Loan Forgiveness, Including New EZ Form
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has issued a revised Form 3508, Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Application. The SBA also released a streamlined PPP Loan Forgiveness Application, Form 3508EZ. The newly issued application forms were needed to address the changes brought upon by the PPP Flexibility Act (PPPFA) of 2020. Form 3508EZ This new three-page form reduces the documentation and calculations required to apply ... more
Webinar Round-Up: PPPFA Forgivable Loan Accounting
Partners S. Scott Seamands and Stanley Woo hosted our quarterly virtual affordable housing roundtable, along with our client Mutual Housing of California. We have hosted these quarterly roundtables since the early 1990’s but in the current environment the roundtables have become virtual meetings. This quarter we outlined the issues related to obtaining loan forgiveness and other aspects of the SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). We also ... more
CARES Act Key Tax Provisions for Individuals and Businesses
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020. The CARES Act is a $2 trillion relief package aimed at providing relief to the American economy in combating the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. While the CARES Act is not a tax relief measure, it does include provisions that center on tax relief to individuals and business owners. Following are some of the more noteworthy tax provisions ... more