Mortgage

Tell Congress to Support Small Businesses by Allowing PPP Expense Deductions

The IRS has contradicted Congress’s tax deduction intent for PPP loans and CARES Act. Previously, recipients have been able to deduct expenses associated with these loans or tax purposes. However, it has been declared that those borrowers who have expected the PPP loan to be forgiven now cannot deduct their expenses on their federal tax returns. Richey May has followed the guidance of The AICPA and engaged with Congress to advocate that PPP expenses be deductible.

Now we need your help. Tell your members of Congress to support small businesses by quickly passing the Small Business Expense Protection Acts of 2020 or the Protecting the Paycheck Protection Program Act, otherwise known as S. 3612 and H.R. 6821. The passing of this legislation will ensure that organizations that have complied with the terms of the PPP and received coronavirus assistance through the program will not be burdened with a sudden tax cost especially during challenging economic times.

To save time, you can copy and paste the draft email from the AICPA below. Find your U.S. senators’ and representatives’ contact information at Congress.gov.

Dear ________,

I am writing you today to strongly encourage you to include in any year-end, must-pass legislation language that will allow millions of small business owners a tax deduction for expenses paid with Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) forgiven loans. Bills have been introduced in the Senate (S.3612 sponsored by Senator Cornyn (R-TX)) and in the House (H.R. 6821 sponsored by Representative Holding (R-NC) or H.R. 6754 sponsored by Representative Fletcher (D-TX)) that would ensure that PPP loan recipients are provided the full benefits intended in the CARES Act.

All Americans have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and your actions in Congress have provided much-needed assistance to millions of struggling businesses. It is important that you ensure that these same businesses are not also subject to additional and unexpected taxes as they continue to struggle to survive. Borrowers who are eligible for forgiveness of their PPP loans have spent the funds as the program directed. Unless they are allowed to deduct these expenses, they may be forced to spend additional funds to pay taxes on the loan proceeds – funds they may not have. Passing this legislation as quickly as possible will provide small business owners more certainty as they focus on year-end business planning that is especially important in these challenging economic times.

I ask that you contact your Senate and House leaders to ensure that PPP loan forgiveness deductibility language is passed by Congress before the end of the year. Thank you for adding your voice to this effort. By banding together, we can better help small businesses that cannot afford an unexpected tax bill on their PPP loan expenses next year.

Talk to us today to learn more about S. 3612, the Small Business Expense Protection Acts of 2020, or H.R.6754, the Protecting the Paycheck Protection Program Act.