CARES act signed

Yesterday President Trump signed the CARES act into law. The law has significant provisions designed to support businesses. Please refer to the March 26, 2020 post for a summary.

We at ACCT know this is a very difficult time for our operators who are either closed or without participants, for guides and facilitators out of work and vendors who either can not work or have had contracts delayed or cancelled. The ACCT staff will continue to support you and our industry in what ever ways we can.

Over the last two days I have read the CARES act carefully to see if there are any areas of the act which our industry should pay special attention to. I found three which will require working with your tax professional.

1) Section 2103 states in short that retirement funds up to $100,000 can be used during the crisis without penalty. If you consider this, please work with your tax professional to assure you meet all of the paperwork and tracking requirements.

2) Sections 2202 states that federal payroll taxes can be delayed. For some businesses this could make a significant difference in your short term operating cost. Again, consult your tax professional before moving down this path. There are a significant number of record keeping task which must be completed if you delay payroll tax payments.

3) Section 2203 allows for Normal Operational Loss caryback and carryforward. This would allow you to post a loss in 2020 against a previous year or a upcoming year if cretin conditions are met. This is a complex area of business tax law that is way beyond my scope of knowledge, So talk to an expert.

Be safe out there. Stay healthy and be creative.