You can claim the potentially lucrative federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) for some of the wages paid to the individual who is part of a targeted group.
 
Here’s what you need to know to make the WOTC a tax saver for your business
 
WOTC Basics
The credit generally equals 40 percent of qualified first-year wages paid to an eligible employee, up to a maximum wage amount of $6,000.
The maximum credit is $2,400 (40 percent x $6,000).
 
The credit is reduced to 25 percent of qualified first-year wages for an employee who completes at least 120 but fewer than 400 hours of service.
In this situation the maximum credit is $1,500 (25 percent x $6,000).
 
You can claim the WOTC only if you hire a member of a targeted group. Targeted groups include the following:

• Qualified IV-A recipients
• Qualified veterans
• Qualified ex-felons
• Designated community residents
• Vocational rehabilitation referrals
• Qualified summer youth employees
• Qualified supplemental nutrition assistance benefits recipients
• Qualified SSI recipients (anyone who is certified by the designated local agency as receiving Supplemental Security Income benefits under Title XVI of the Social Security Act for any month ending within the 60-day period ending on the hiring date)
• Long-term family assistance recipients
• Qualified long-term unemployment recipients

 
This link contains links to the names, addresses, phone and fax numbers, and email addresses of the WOTC coordinators for each of the SWAs.
 
Exceptions to the General Rule on Credits

There’s a higher limit of $12,000 for first-year wages paid to a qualified veteran who is entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability and was discharged or released from the military within the past year.

• The maximum credit is $4,800 (40 percent x $12,000).

 
There’s an even higher limit of $14,000 for first-year wages paid to a qualified veteran who was unemployed for at least six months in the prior year.

• The maximum credit is $5,600 (40 percent x $14,000).

 
If a qualified veteran both has a service-connected disability and was unemployed for at least six months in the prior year, the limit for first-year wages is $24,000.

• The maximum credit is $9,600 (40 percent x $24,000).

 
The WOTC for a long-term family assistance recipient equals 40 percent of qualified first-year wages, up to a maximum wage amount of $10,000.

• ​The maximum credit is $4,000 (40 percent x $10,000). 

In addition, for long-term family assistance recipients, the WOTC can be claimed for 50 percent of qualified second-year wages, up to a maximum wage amount of $10,000.

• The maximum second-year credit is $5,000 (50 percent x $10,000) and a maximum combined credit for the two years of $9,000 ($4,000 + $5,000).

 
The WOTC for a qualified summer youth employee (a 16-year-old or 17-year-old who lives in an empowerment zone) equals 40 percent of first-year wages paid during any 90-day period between May 1 and September 15, up to a maximum wage amount of $3,000.

• The maximum credit is $1,200 (40 percent x $3,000).

​If you would like my help with the WOTC, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@ramlcpa.com​.

The need for innovation and creativity is not going away now that businesses and workplaces are opening up again. Business leaders need to consider how they can continue encouraging these traits as they navigate to a new normal. One way to accomplish this is by ensuring your business is a psychologically safe space where employees can feel free to be themselves, be right or wrong, and present out-of-the-box ideas without feeling threatened or diminished.
A psychologically safe workplace nurtures this type of environment. As defined by Amy Edmondson, a professor at Harvard Business School, psychological safety is the shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking. It is an environment in which:

• Everyone feels safe participating.
• Questions are perceived neutrally, not as "smart" or "stupid."
• Mistakes are treated as learning experiences, not a sign of incompetence.

In other words, psychological safety is embodied in a company culture in which company leaders respect their employees in the same way they want to be respected.
In some ways, the virtual environment we have been living in primed us for this by giving managers and team members a glimpse into each other's lives in ways they could not imagine before the pandemic. The blend of work life and home life made meetings more personal, from the color of paint on the walls to the cat walking over the keyboard. We learned to understand some of the challenges team members were facing while working from home. This understanding can be the basis for the trust and respect needed for psychological safety.
These three strategies can help firm leaders embrace this concept:

1. Remember that everyone's voice is important. Keeping in mind that every member of the team has his or her own personality, perspective, skills and experiences, it is up to leaders to make sure everyone — introverts and extroverts alike — has the opportunity to participate. This can be accomplished by going around the virtual table and giving everyone a turn to speak or by the leader randomly calling on different people.
2. Expect to be treated the same way as any other team member. In a psychologically safe environment, it important for the leader to take criticism and suggestions gracefully. It is hard to feel vulnerable, but leaders need to be able to accept negative feedback as well as positive feedback. For example, suppose the manager wants to proceed immediately with a new vertical, but the team explains the reasons why it would be beneficial to wait six months. With this model, the manager must honestly take the group's opinion into consideration. Then, after evaluating both opinions, the manager needs to thank the team for their input and tell them the key reasons for his or her decision.
3. Communicate. Communication is key to a psychologically safe culture. It is not a do-what-I-say culture. There is no room for intimidation or gossip.

While listening to others and respecting their opinions is important, company leaders are still the ultimate decision makers. The work world we are going back to is not the same as the one we left before the pandemic or the one we will see in the future. Still, showing respect for employees never is wrong.

Curtsey of Industrynewsletters.com 

With Tax Day officially moved to May 17, 2021, there were several associated deadlines that normally go hand in hand with the individual tax deadline but were not specially addressed.

On March 29 the IRS addressed the most pressing of these with Notice 2021-21, which specified that the following tax related deadlines were also moved to May 17, 2021, to correspond with the individual income tax deadline.

• Contributions to IRAs
• Contributions Health savings accounts
• Unclaimed 2017 refunds

The most item not covered with Notice 2021-21 is First Quarter 2021 Estimated Tax Payments which are currently still due April 15.  Were monitoring this situation and will provide and update should this date also change to May 17.*

For more information, a link to the IRS announcement is here [LINK] along with a downloadable copy of Notice 2021-21 below.

​
* correction from early posting which incorrectly listed stated Q1 2021 Estimated Tax Payments were due May 17.

The six-month free COBRA period is from April through September 2021

According to December survey data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics,

​Roughly 26.8 million Americans are either unemployed, experiencing reduced pay and work hours or have left the labor market entirely.

• Of the 26.8 million:
  • 10.7 million are officially unemployed,
  • 7.5 million are experiencing cuts to pay and hours,
  • 4.9 million have dropped out of the labor force and
  • 3.7 million are currently misclassified as employed when they’re either unemployed or absent from the labor force.

IR-2020-279,
​December 22, 2020

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2021 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.
Beginning on January 1, 2021, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:
​

• 56 cents per mile driven for business use, down 1.5 cents from the rate for 2020,
• 16 cents per mile driven for medical, or moving purposes for qualified active duty members of the Armed Forces, down 1 cent from the rate for 2020, and
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations, the rate is set by statute and remains unchanged from 2020.

The standard mileage rate for business use is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs.
It is important to note that under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, taxpayers cannot claim a miscellaneous itemized deduction for unreimbursed employee travel expenses. Taxpayers also cannot claim a deduction for moving expenses, unless they are members of the Armed Forces on active duty moving under orders to a permanent change of station. For more details see Moving Expenses for Members of the Armed Forces.
Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rates.

Taxpayers can use the standard mileage rate but must opt to use it in the first year the car is available for business use. Then, in later years, they can choose either the standard mileage rate or actual expenses. Leased vehicles must use the standard mileage rate method for the entire lease period (including renewals) if the standard mileage rate is chosen.

https://ramlcpa.link/3d56d | ​Journal of Accountancy

While not law just yet, it is expected to be signed by the president as soon as today.

While we know many key details, there are some key details we don't know, especially regarding the PPP Loan Program. The most pressing in my mind are bank participation and when applications will be accepted as some time will be needed to restart the program.
 
Additional details will be forthcoming and the below summary will probably be updated over the coming days for additional details and clarifications.

Below, I summarize the key provisions in the bill:​

 $325 billion in aid for small businesses struggling after nine months of pandemic-induced economic hardships.  
    Allocations           

• $284 billion to the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) for first and second PPP forgivable small business loans and 
• $20 billion to provide Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Grants to businesses in low-income communities. 
• $15 billion in dedicated funding  for shuttered live venues, independent movie theaters, and cultural institutions 
• $12 billion will be set aside to help business in low-income and minority communities.   

$120 billion to provide workers receiving unemployment benefits a       

• $300 per week supplement from Dec. 26 until March 14, 2021.       
• This bill also extends the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, with expanded coverage to the self-employed, gig workers, and others in nontraditional employment, and the Pandemic Emergency  Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program, which provides additional weeks of federally funded unemployment benefits to individuals who exhaust their regular state benefits. 

Other Provisions           
               
 $25 billion in emergency rental aid and an extension of the national eviction moratorium through Jan. 31, 2021.  
               
 $45 billion in transportation funding, including          

• $16 billion for airlines,          
• $14 billion for transit systems,          
• $10 billion for state highways,         
• $2 billion each for airports and intercity buses, and        
• $1 billion for Amtrak.          

               
$82 billion in funding for colleges and schools, including support for HVAC repair and replacement to mitigate virus transmission, and  
  
$10 billion in child care assistance.          
                           
$22 billion for health-related expenses incurred by state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments.   
               
$13 billion for emergency food assistance, including a 15% increase for six months in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. 
  
$7 billion for broadband expansion.          
               
  The bill also extends the           

• Employee retention tax credit and several expiring tax provisions

​
​   and temporarily allows a             

PPP Round one (1) recipients (PPP1) may apply for another loan of up to $2 million, provided they:             

•  Have 300 or fewer employees.         
•  Have used or will use the full amount of their first PPP loan.       
•  Can show a 25% gross revenue decline in any 2020 quarter compared with the same quarter in 2019.
•      

First-time PPP borrowers will also permitted from the following groups:      

• Businesses with 500 or fewer employees that are eligible for other SBA 7(a) loans.    
• Sole proprietors, independent contractors, and eligible self-employed individuals.    
• Not-for-profits, including churches.         
• Accommodation and food services operations (those with North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes starting with 72) with fewer than 300 employees per physical location.  

PPP loan terms           
               
As with PPP Round 1 (PPP1), the costs eligible for loan forgiveness in PPP Round 2 (PPP2) include payroll, rent, covered mortgage interest, and utilities. 
 
PPP2 also makes (adds) the following potentially forgivable:       

• Covered worker protection and facility modification expenditures, including personal protective equipment, to comply with COVID-19 federal health and safety guidelines.  
• Expenditures to suppliers that are essential at the time of purchase to the recipient’s current operations.  
• Covered operating costs such as software and cloud computing services and accounting needs.   

               
To be eligible for full loan forgiveness, PPP borrowers will have to spend no less than 60% of the funds on payroll over a covered period of either eight (8) or twenty-four (24) weeks — the same parameters PPP1 had when it stopped accepting applications in August.
       
PPP borrowers may receive a loan amount of up to 2.5 times their average monthly payroll costs in the year prior to the loan or the calendar year, the same as with PPP1, but the maximum loan amount has been cut from $10 million in the first round to the previously mentioned $2 million maximum. PPP borrowers with NAICS codes starting with 72 (hotels and restaurants) can get up to 3.5 times their average monthly payroll costs, again subject to a $2 million maximum.
 
​
Simplified application and other terms of note              
               
 The new COVID-19 relief bill also:          

• Creates a simplified forgiveness application process for loans of $150,000 or less. Specifically, a borrower shall receive forgiveness if a borrower signs and submits to the lender a certification that is not more than one page in length, includes a description of the number of employees the borrower was able to retain because of the loan, the estimated total amount of the loan spent on payroll costs, and the total loan amount. The SBA must create the simplified application form within 24 days of the bill’s enactment and may not require additional materials unless necessary to substantiate revenue loss requirements or satisfy relevant statutory or regulatory requirements. Borrowers are required to retain relevant records related to employment for four years and other records for three years, as the SBA may review and audit these loans to check for fraud. 

• Repeals the requirement that PPP borrowers deduct the amount of any EIDL advance from their PPP forgiveness amount. 
• Includes set-asides to support first-time and second-time PPP borrowers with 10 or fewer employees, first-time PPP borrowers that have recently been made eligible, and for loans made by community lenders. 

The bill also specifies that business expenses paid with forgiven PPP loans are tax-deductible. This supersedes IRS guidance that such expenses could not be deducted and brings the policy in line with what the AICPA and hundreds of other business associations have argued was Congress’s intent when it created the original PPP as part of the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, P.L. 116-136 (see the Dec. 3 letter from the AICPA and state societies to congressional leaders). 
               
The COVID-19 relief bill clarifies that “no deduction shall be denied, no tax attribute shall be reduced, and no basis e shall be denied, by reason of the exclusion from gross income provided” by Section 1106 of the CARES Act (which has been redesignated as Section 7A of the Small Business Act). This provision applies to loans under both the original PPP and subsequent PPP loans.

It's important to note that Governor Hogan signed an executive order (copy below, FAQs) that excludes 2020 employer data from the formula used to determine the 2021 unemployment rate. If the Governor had not done this, all employers would have had an even higher tax rate for 2021.

​While obviously not good news, at first glace it might not sound all that punitive at first glance. However, imagine you have 50 employees, all of which require an unemployment contribution. That comes out to an extra $8,075 that employers will have to pay in for 2021. In higher turnover businesses such as retail and hospitality, it's very possible to have on average 10 to 15 employees per year, but because of attrition this equals 50 or more total employees per year, all of which require their own unemployment contribution.

While unemployment rates will reduce over time as we saw a similar situation occur during and after the financial crisis (great recession). Unfortunately, in the short term, this is one more hit businesses are going to have to contend with.