With the rising costs of higher education, many of our clients are actively seeking ways to set aside funds to support their children and grandchildren’s future education expenses. An efficient and flexible way to save for college and its associated costs is a 529 plan. A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings plan specifically designed to provide for the qualified education expenses of a designated beneficiary. 529 funds grow tax-deferred, and withdrawals are tax-free provided they’re used for qualifying educational expenses. Click here to read more.
With five weeks left, in what has been a roller coaster of a year for financial markets, deadlines are quickly approaching to implement strategies for 2022 to reduce your income tax liability. Further, the market has also presented new opportunities to structure portfolios for tax-efficiency as we head into 2023. Click here to read where we have outlined a few planning thoughts.
At Canal Capital Management, we provide objective guidance and disciplined investment management for our clients. Importantly, tax strategies are a part of every decision we make.
A topic we have been discussing with business owner clients is related to recent legislation that provides an opportunity for business owners to reduce their federal income tax liability if the business makes an election to pay Virginia taxes at the entity level.
With significant gains in real estate over the past 10 years, and interest rates at historical lows, diversifying real estate holdings via a 1031 exchange remains an attractive strategy for many investors. Click HERE to read more.
With the 2020 election around the corner, we thought it would be helpful to outline the presidential candidates’ tax proposals. While it is difficult to determine which policy initiatives either candidate will eventually pursue, we will continue to monitor and keep you informed of developments to both plans. Please click here to read more.
As a follow up to our overview of The CARES Act sent last week,
the third Federal stimulus bill in response to COVID-19, I wanted to provide
you with a quick update on additional guidance recently issued on the two key
SBA loan programs available to business owners: the Payroll Protection
Program (this is the program that will issue forgivable loans and
every business owner should know about) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans.
The Payroll Protection Program (“PPP”)
Signed into law on Friday, these are SBA loans administered by banks. $350 billion of loans will be issued.
Businesses with < 500 employees, as well as self-employed individuals, can apply for a loan of up to 2.5x their average monthly payroll costs. Payroll costs include wages, health insurance, and retirement plan contributions, capped at an annual salary of $100,000 per employee. For example, if your business average monthly payroll is $50,000 the maximum loan is $125,000.
If the loan is used for certain expenses (payroll costs, rent, utilities, etc.) during the 8 weeks following the origination of the loan, and as long as there is not a reduction in the number of employees or a greater than 25% reduction in wages paid, the borrower is eligible for complete loan forgiveness. This is a tax-free grant.
The application was just released yesterday, a copy is attached for your review, and we understand that banks will start processing most loans this Friday (April 3rd) and next Friday (April 10th) for any self-employed individuals or independent contractors.
There are two things that we recommend you do at this time:
Calculate your average monthly payroll costs for the 12 months from April 2019 through March 2020 (you will likely need to substantiate this with payroll returns filed over that time period, so you should have those ready as well), and
Contact your CURRENT business bank/banker. As mentioned, these forgivable loans will be administered by banks, and we have heard that bankers intend to take care of their existing customers first. Many lenders who have not done SBA loans in the past will start processing PPP loans. Each bank will have its own list of required documents that you will need to provide.
If we can help with the average monthly payroll calculations, or
working through the requirements of maintaining your pre-COVID-19 payroll
and/or reinstating terminated employees to meet this test, please let us know.
Businesses with < 500 employees, as well as self-employed individuals, can apply for loans of up to $2 million. Interest rates will be low, and terms will be 15 to 30 years.
Eligible businesses may receive an advance of up to $10,000 within 3 days of submitting a loan application.
Advances made prior to loan approval do not need to be repaid, even if the loan application is denied.
Businesses will likely be able to receive a much larger loan under the EIDL compared to the PPP, to be used for a variety of operating expenses over a longer time period, but these loans are not forgivable.
As additional
guidance is issued we will continue to keep you updated.
