08 January 2021
See how JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® can help you.
Click here for the latest articles on the coronavirus.
We have a new PPP Loan authorization bill out of Washington, after months of political wrangling. Congress could have done more, but they did provide for up to $2,000,000 in additional forgivable loans per borrower, along with provisions which specifically cater to the hospitality industry.
As Jay Thompson and other members of our Corporate team write below, Congress has made obtaining a PPP loan and getting forgiveness for that loan easier. They have also expanded the definition of what can be an “eligible expense” upon which to base a PPP loan, and they have allowed for the issuance of a PPP Loan to a borrower in bankruptcy as part of a restructure of the borrower’s business. The Small Business Administration wasted no time in starting to issue interim rules interpreting the new law, and we will probably see one or two more before they produce a working application form.
COVID Relief Bill: Changes to the Paycheck Protection Program and New Lending Terms
by
Jay Thompson, Vanessa Han and Marianne Martin
On December 27, 2020, the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“2021 Act”), which contains the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act (“Economic Aid Act”). The acts contain changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) that are intended to limit assistance to small businesses that need the financial support. The following highlights the impact of the 2021 Act and the Economic Aid Act on PPP loans.
Tax Treatment of the Paycheck Protection Program Loans
The 2021 Act provides for special tax treatment in Division N, Section 276 for forgiveness of loans granted pursuant to the original Paycheck Protection Program under the CARES Act (“Existing PPP Loans”) and any new PPP loans (“New PPP Loans”) under the Economic Aid Act.
The Economic Aid Act provides that any loan forgiveness under either the Existing PPP Loan Program or the New PPP Loan Program (collectively, the “PPP Program Loans”) shall not be treated as gross income to the recipient for tax purposes or the recipient’s partners or shareholders. Further, all costs that were considered in calculating a PPP loan (salaries, rent and utilities) are still eligible to be used as deductions against gross income of a PPP loan applicant even if it receives loan forgiveness. The IRS had previously issued a ruling that the costs could not be considered as offsets to income if loan forgiveness had been granted to the taxpayer and those costs were used to calculate the Existing PPP Loan.
Specifically, the PPP Program Loans are subject to the following tax treatment:
- No amount shall be included in the gross income of a recipient by reason of forgiveness of a PPP Program Loan.
- No deduction shall be denied, no tax attribute shall be reduced and no basis increase shall be denied as the result of the exclusion of the forgiveness amount under a PPP Program Loan from the recipient’s gross income.
- Neither the partners in a partnership nor the shareholders of an S corporation shall have to recognize any gross income by reason of forgiveness of a PPP Program Loan.
- The partners in a partnership and the shareholders of an S corporation shall be entitled to their distributive share of any costs giving rise to forgiveness under either of the PPP Program Loans.