Are you stressed by the lack of clarity on the Paycheck Protection Program or Economic Injury Disaster Loan details? How about finding out when and how you will receive your federal stimulus payment? Self-employed people may only recently be receiving unemployment. If anything, the past two months have felt like we have got June bugs crawling everywhere. Pure annoyance!  

 

While many of us are frustrated, we have to understand that Congress passed legislation quickly in the wake of the pandemic and it may need some fixing. The Department of the Treasury and the Small Business Administration have been making interpretations, but there are so many different scenarios that businesses have that it has been difficult to get clear on how to treat each circumstance and determine what qualifies for PPP Loan forgiveness.

 

The IRS poured water on Congress’s designation that the forgiven loan proceeds are not taxable income when it determined that business expenses paid with the forgiven loans are not tax deductible. Ouch! That disappointment could be rectified if new legislation is passed.

 

If you have not received your federal stimulus payment of $1200 or less, you can now call the IRS at 800-919-9835. If you received a payment for your deceased spouse, you should return it per instructions at IRS.gov/coronavirus/ within the Economic Impact Payment Information Center. You can also check on your payment status there, too. If you did not have a bank account entered on your tax return for your tax refund, then you likely will not receive a direct deposit, but a check or debit card instead. If all else fails, you will receive the stimulus payment as a tax credit in your 2020 tax return.

 

Those of you who are self-employed and filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) with the NYS DOL and still have not received your unemployment, do not give up. Just remember, unemployment income is taxable on your income tax return. If you have not been having tax withheld, you may be in for a surprise come tax time next year. You can submit quarterly estimated tax payments to the IRS and NYS via estimated tax vouchers or be ready to pay at tax time with some penalty.

 

Hopefully, as we go through Phase 1, 2, 3 and 4 of reopening our economy in NYS that folks will be responsible and observe social distancing guidelines and wear face masks when required. We certainly want to avoid a second wave of this pandemic. While we may lament our current plight, we have to take our hats off to our medical professionals who are dealing with the same frustrations we are on top of the unimaginable stress of caring for those of us who are ill with COVID-19.

 

The sunny spring weather with its flowers and greenery is a delight in our area. Hopefully, life can get back to a new normal soon and we can talk with and hug one another without fear.