Small businesses that manage to get their Paycheck Protection Program loans forgiven may find themselves losing valuable tax breaks, according to new guidance from the Internal Revenue Service.
Companies that qualify for loan forgiveness under legislation Congress approved won’t be able to deduct the wages or other businesses expenses they paid for using the loan, according to an IRS notice published Thursday.
“This treatment prevents a double tax benefit,” the agency said in the notice. “This conclusion is consistent with prior guidance of the IRS.”
The guidance clarifies a point of confusion in the $670 billion small business loan program to help businesses struggling as the coronavirus has brought the economy to a standstill. The law states that the forgiven loan won’t be taxed, but didn’t specify whether companies could still write off the expenses they covered with that money.
Manny Newburger leads the consumer financial services law practice group at Barron & Newburger, P.C. He has a national practice in consumer protection litigation, regulatory matters and compliance. For 22 years, he has taught consumer protection law at the University of Texas School of Law.
Barbara Sinsley is chief legal officer for Remitter USA and meldCX. She previously served as general counsel of FactorTrust, a credit-reporting company that utilized alternative credit scoring models. She is a recognized expert in laws affecting the credit and collection industry.
As companies are evaluating continued operations, balancing profits with acceptable levels of loss, functioning with massively more remote work and trying to make up for economic disruptions, the first thought tends to be “How can we cut costs?”
The tax code permits companies to write off businesses expenses, such as wages, rent and transportation expenses, but generally doesn’t allow write-offs for tax-exempt income.
The ruling adds to the list of stumbling blocks facing businesses as they try to qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program loans.
Small businesses have reported technical issues in trying to apply for the funds, which restarted Monday after the first round of funding ran out after just 13 days.
The program, run by the Small Business Administration, provides funds to cover eight weeks of payroll costs and the loans are forgiven if the employers keep workers on the job or quickly rehire laid-off workers.