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.
Brian Huang is the co-founder and CEO of Glider.
Jasmin Guthmann is a strategist, storyteller, and executive leader operating at the forefront of business transformation and modern technology. As Community Chair and former Executive Board Member of the MACH Alliance, she empowers organisations to cut through complexity and drive tangible outcomes through clarity, creativity, and composable thinking.
Charity Karanja is an attorney at Butler Snow LLP in the Public Finance, Tax Incentives and Credit Markets Group. She holds the Development Finance Certified Professional (DFCP) designation through the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA). She is recognized as one of The Bond Buyer's 2025 Rising Stars and has the distinction of being one of six women in the nation named to the 2024 Class of the Caren S. Franzini Fellowship, a merit- based program by the CDFA Foundation, recognizing outstanding women in development finance for their leadership and dedication to the advancement of the industry.
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.