News of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act has made headlines every day since its enactment in late March. As of April 16, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that the initial amounts appropriated for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) (including up to $10,000 emergency grants) for the COVID-19 virus situation have run out, but fear not for businesses concerned about cash flow can find solace in two other CARES Act provisions.
One provision of the Act allows the employer portion of payroll tax deposits to be utilized if no PPP loan is forgiven. This provision seeks to alleviate the burden on employers struggling to make payroll by allowing the employer’s share of the 6.2% social security tax that would otherwise be due from the date of enactment through December 31, 2020, to be deferred and then paid in two 50% installments by December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2022. For those who are self-employed, you can immediately defer paying 50% of your self-employment tax that would be due from the date of enactment through the end of 2020 until the end of 2021 (25%) and 2022 (25%).
This means an employer who incurs its 6.2% share of Social Security tax in 2020 may defer payment of that tax until 2021 and 2022.
The second provision allows an employer to receive an immediate credit against those yet-to-be paid payroll taxes via the sum of the emergency medical leave credit, sick leave credit, and new employee retention credit. This will increase the cash available to businesses in the coming months. It appears these credits may also be refundable, meaning you can get cash back from the IRS for certain payroll taxes already paid.
The Czar Beer team is dedicated to providing timely, accurate information on all aspects of the CARES Act and the current economic crisis that affect our clients. However, as this is all developing quickly we are here to offer support in any way we can. You can email us at info@czarbeer.com or call 212 397 2970 with any questions you may have.