CARES Act and Job Info
Here are two important things I thought you might benefit from:
If you’ve lost your job due to the virus, here are 6 steps that might help:
1. Apply for unemployment benefits – In most cases, you can file online but contact your state’s unemployment office.
2. Contact your banks and lenders – See if they can waive or reduce fees for a while. Letting your lender know early in the process is important.
3. Triage your finances – Cut out any nonessential spending for the time being. Free up as much room in your budget as possible for the things that can’t be paused.
4. Tap into community resources – There are many resources out there. Can’t find anything, ask a friend!
5. Apply for short-term help, if you need it – Although you want to stay out of debt as much as possible, some banks and credit unions are offering emergency loans to help stop the gap.
6. Keep tabs on the stimulus – You may be receiving benefits, so be on the lookout. There are several good summaries online.
The CARES act was just passed by Congress and can help individuals and businesses during this difficult time. Thanks to SmarTax and Accounting for this part of the content!
> Stimulus Credit – The IRS will be using your 2018 return (or 2019 if already filed) to determine the amount of a stimulus check you may receive (amounts of the stimulus provided in the brochure). The stimulus starts to phase out at $75,000 AGI so if your income was above that, it does NOT mean you won’t receive anything, it just means the amount you receive will be scaled down based on how much more income you had over the threshold. This money is NOT taxable.
> Payroll Tax Deferral – For those of you with employees, starting with wages paid 4/1 you can elect to defer the employer portion of the social security tax you’ve accrued (this is a portion of the 941 payroll taxes paid monthly or quarterly depending on the business). The accrued funds would then be due over 2 years, on 12/31/21, and 12/31/22. This deferral does not apply to any other type of payroll tax.
> Employee Retention Credit – You can receive a 50% credit on wages paid to employees during the crisis (up to $10K). The brochure for businesses does a good job of explaining the details of how this works.
> SBA Loans/Grants – This one is not included in either of the brochures, but the SBA (Small Business Administration) is also offering loans/grants to businesses that qualify to help get through these times. Applications will start being processed on Friday, 4/3, and you can find more information at this link:
https://www.sba.gov/page/coronavirus-covid-19-small-business-guidance-loan-resources
If there is ANYTHING I can do for you, please let us know. We’re here for you!