Dear WZ Clients, Business Associates and Friends,

The $484 billion Coronavirus “Phase 3.5” relief bill has been signed by the President. This latest relief package will provide additional Covid-19 relief for small businesses, hospitals and expanded virus testing. Also attached to the relief package, is additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program. The previous paycheck Protection Program ran out of money after the March 27^the passage of the CARES Act.

Key highpoints of the bill are below:

Additional Funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

$310 billion has been approved for the Paycheck Protection Program. In an effort to provide money to minority and rural businesses this program includes $60 billion committed to underserved communities, community banks and credit unions.

The PPP was originally authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and was funded with $349 billion. It provides up to eight weeks of cash-flow assistance to individuals eligible to continue payroll during the COVID-19 crisis and cover certain other expenses. Those recipients could qualify for loans up to $10 million calculated based on average monthly payroll costs x 2.5 and the first loan payment is deferred for six months. The loans could be forgiven if the company maintains its employee and salary levels, and if the proceeds are used to cover payroll costs and defined expenses including rent and utility costs. No more than 25% of the loan may be used for non-payroll expenses. Ordinarily a reduction or cancellation of indebtedness generally results in cancellation of debt (COD) income to the debtor, however under the CARES act amounts forgiven under a PPP loan are excluded from the recipient’s federal gross income. Unforgiven amounts of the loans will have an interest rate of 1%, a maturity of two years, and no borrower or lender fees.

Additional Funding for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (EIDL)

EIDL, which is run by the Small Business Administration (SBA) will get an additional $60 billion, with $10 billion of the funds reserved for the EIDL Advance program. This program provides up to $10,000 of emergency grants and does not need to be repaid.

The SBA’s EIDL program, provides up to $2 million of financial assistance to those small businesses eligible or private, non-profit organizations that suffer great economic injury as a direct result of the acknowledged disaster. The EIDL is a low-interest working capital loan at a fixed rate of 3.75% for businesses and 2.75% for nonprofits, with a term of up to 30 years. The repayment term will be determined by the applicants’ ability to repay the loan. Payments are deferred for one year, and borrowers don’t have to prove they cannot get credit elsewhere. Applicants do not go through a bank to apply, and instead, apply directly to the SBA. Loan amounts are based on the amount of economic injury and loans under $25,000 can be unsecured.

Additional Health care provider relief

Additional funding of $75 billion has been approved for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund. These monies are to be distributed to hospitals and health care providers for related expenses or lost revenue attributable to the Coronavirus.

Funding for COVID-19 testing

The bill includes an additional $25 billion for expenses to research, develop, validate, manufacture, purchase, administer and expand COVID-19 test. These monies will be allocated to the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund.

AS ALWAYS, WAGNER & ZWERMAN IS HERE TO ANSWER ALL OF YOUR QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS. WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.

STAY SAFE AND HEALTHY

** IF YOU HAVE MISSED ANY PREVIOUS WZ COMMUNICATION IN REGARDS TO COVID-19, PLEASE REFER TO OUR WEBSITE

Best,

WZ Partners

Dear WZ Clients, Business Associates and Friends,

Below is an update status of the PPP Loan Program:

1. SBA ran out of money last week

2. Senate passed bill to add $250 Billion

3. Waiting on House to vote, hoping today

4. Should be available tomorrow

5. Apply as soon as it is available for people that have not applied yet

6. Available through Amex and various banks and non-traditional banks (see list below)

America First Credit Union

Ameris Bank

Atlantic Capital Bank

Bank of America

BB&T

Blue Ridge Bank

Celtic Bank

First Commonwealth

First Home Bank

First United Bank

FirstBank

Fountainhead SBF

Fulton Bank

JPMorgan Chase

Midwest BankCentre

Old National

Peapack-Gladstone Bank

Pinnacle Bank

PNC Bank

Ready Capital

Silicon Valley Bank, or SVB

Sunrise Banks

Suntrust Bank

TD Bank

Umpqua Bank

Univest Bank and Trust Co.

US Bank

Wells Fargo

West Town Bank & Trust

For further information on National Banks accepting PPP Loan Applications, follow the link below:

National Banks accepting PPP Loan Applications

AS ALWAYS, WAGNER & ZWERMAN IS HERE TO ANSWER ALL OF YOUR QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS. WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.

STAY SAFE AND HEALTHY

** IF YOU HAVE MISSED ANY PREVIOUS WZ COMMUNICATION IN REGARDS TO COVID-19, PLEASE REFER TO OUR WEBSITE

Best,

WZ Partners

Dear WZ Clients, Business Associates and Friends, So many checks and even more questions! There is a lot of confusion about the details surrounding the Coronavirus stimulus checks and below is a compiled list of frequently asked questions and answers. What will be the amount of my check? Each adult will receive $1,200; if you filed as married jointly, you’ll get $2,400; with an extra $500 for each qualifying child. How do I check the status of my Stimulus Check? https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment What if I didn’t make any money last year, or I was on a reduced income? It doesn’t matter. There is no minimum income threshold you need to pass to qualify. However, if you did not file an income tax return for the 2018 or 2019 tax year, you’ll need to provide your information at the following link so the IRS knows where to send your stimulus money: https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/non-filers-enter-payment-info-here True or False? I heard that if I make too much money, I won’t receive a check. On the other end of the spectrum, there are income limits based on your tax filing status. If you are single and made more than $75k, married and earned more than $150k, or a head of household with more than $112.5k in adjusted gross income, your stimulus check amount will start to phase-out, and many above these incomes will not receive anything. My income is under the threshold in 2018 but over in 2019. What are my options? In this case, you can wait to file your 2019 return and qualify to receive the check based on your 2018 tax return. This is easy to do this year given the automatic extensions granted for federal income tax returns. In 2020, my income is going to be higher than in 2019 and put me above the thresholds. Will I have to pay back my stimulus check? No, there is no claw-back provision in the law, so you won’t have to pay it back. Is my stimulus check taxable?  No, it is not taxable income. I didn’t need to file a tax return in 2018 or 2019 because my only source of income is Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) and my income was limited; do I have to file a return now to get a check? SSDI recipients don’t need to file a return or take additional action. Their checks will be direct deposited or sent via mail – the same way they normally receive their benefits. I have a child in college who I claim as a dependent. Will either of us get a stimulus check? If your child is 18 years or older at the end of the tax year, you are not eligible for the $500 check due to their age – even if you claim them as a dependent. Your child likewise will not get his/her own check since you claim your child as a dependent – even if he/she works. There is a proposal to change this, however nothing is confirmed as of this date. What about a senior parent whom I claim as a dependent? The same rules as above apply, so no. In order to get the $500 check per dependent, the person must both qualify as a dependent and meet the age requirement. Similarly, the senior parent cannot get his/her own check since you are claiming your senior parent as a dependent. We had a child in 2020. Will I receive a stimulus check for this child? Most likely you will not because not the IRS would have no record of your new qualifying dependent based on your 2019 return. How soon will I receive my stimulus check? The government is planning on processing and sending out checks as soon as possible. Based on what the U.S. Treasury has said, as soon as possible means starting to process taxpayer information in April. How soon you will receive your money after this depends on whether you have set up direct deposit with the government in the current or previous year tax filings. For taxpayers who don’t have direct deposit set up, click on this link to input your information so the IRS knows where to send your stimulus check: https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/non-filers-enter-payment-info-here I heard I can get my stimulus check faster if I pay a third party to have it processed. Is this true? No! Beware of any person, or company, claiming to do this because this is a scam. There is no legitimate way to skip to the head of the line. What happens if I owe the IRS back taxes? The stimulus checks are generally exempt from seizure for existing tax debts. This includes if you are on an installment payment plan to settle a tax bill. The one possible exception to this could be for child support in arrears. AS ALWAYS, WAGNER & ZWERMAN IS HERE TO ANSWER ALL OF YOUR QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS. WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.   STAY SAFE AND HEALTHY   ** IF YOU HAVE MISSED ANY PREVIOUS WZ COMMUNICATION IN REGARDS TO COVID-19, PLEASE REFER TO OUR WEBSITE Best,   WZ Partners

 

April 7, 2020

Dear WZ Client:

Just days after applications have been sent in for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, the Treasury and lawmakers are pushing for more funds to be added to the $349 billion allocated to the program under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Today Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced in a press conference, at the direction of President Trump, has asked Congress for an additional $250 billion for the PPP, which provides loans up to $10 million to businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 500 employees.

Secretary Mnuchin indicated that he expects the measure to pass the Senate on Thursday and the House by Friday.

The WZ team will continue to keep you alerted on the latest developments on this measure.

As always, the partners and the entire WZ team, stand with you during these times together.

Best,

WZ Partners