Disasters and your taxes: What you need to know

Homeowners and businesses across the country have experienced weather-related disasters in recent months. From hurricanes, tornadoes and other severe storms to the wildfires again raging in the West, natural disasters have led to significant losses for a wide swath of taxpayers. If you’re among them, you may qualify for a federal income tax deduction, as … Read more

ERC guidance issued by IRS as Congress considers early termination

The IRS has published new guidance on the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). The credit was created in March 2020 to encourage employers to keep their workforces intact during the COVID-19 pandemic. Notice 2021-49 addresses various issues, particularly those related to the extension of the credit through 2021 by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The … Read more

Understanding the child tax credit payments

The first advance payments under the temporarily expanded child tax credit (CTC) will begin to arrive for nearly 39 million households in mid-July 2021 — unless, that is, they opt out. Most eligible families won’t need to do anything to receive the payments, but you need to understand the implications and why advance payments might … Read more

Far-reaching tax overhaul proposed by the Biden administration

President Biden recently announced his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan (AFP), the third step in his Build Back Better policy initiative. The announcement followed the previous releases of the proposed $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan and the Made in America Tax Plan. These plans propose major investments in various domestic initiatives, such as expanded tax credits for … Read more

President Biden details his tax proposals for individuals

President Biden’s proposals for individual taxpayers were outlined in an April 28 address to Congress and in an 18-page fact sheet released by the White House. The “American Families Plan” contains tax breaks for low- and middle-income taxpayers and tax increases on those “making over $400,000 per year.” Here’s a summary of some of the … Read more

Video: Employee Retention Credit Update

H2R CPA Partner, Lucas Rihely, CPA, discusses the Employee Retention Credit, which originated under the CARES Act, and has been amended multiple times since its implementation. Discussion points in this video include: 0:11​ – Overview of Employee Retention Credit 0:55​ – Defining a partial shutdown 2:40​ – Paycheck Protection Program Coordination 3:25​ – Example: Paycheck … Read more

Make the most of the Employee Retention Credit

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC), which was created to encourage employers to keep their workforces intact during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been with us for a year. But questions about it remain for many employers. With the new American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) extending the credit and expanding eligibility — and the credit worth as … Read more

Tax filing deadline extension provides relief to individual taxpayers

The IRS has announced that the federal income tax filing deadline for individuals for the 2020 tax year is extended from April 15, 2021, until Monday, May 17, 2021. The IRS extended the deadline to provide relief to taxpayers facing challenges as a result of the pandemic and because it’s grappling with a rising backlog … Read more

Video: Employee Retention Credit Expanded

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, expanded the Employee Retention Credit which was implemented under the CARES Act. Important Update: Businesses that participated in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) are now permitted to use the Employee Retention Credit, but only for wages not covered under the PPP – a business cannot “double-dip.” Lucas Rihely, CPA, Partner, … Read more

Second Draw PPP Loans and other considerations that impact businesses

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA) was signed into law in late December. The sprawling legislation contains billions of dollars in additional stimulus funding in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as numerous unrelated provisions. Let’s take a closer look at the provisions that are most likely to affect your company’s bottom line. … Read more