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Archives for March 2020

COVID-19 Relief Update

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BGMF CPAs is leading the way to help small businesses, however, we are really in a holding pattern right now until the new Stimulus Bill gets reviewed by SBA.  Procedures will then be drafted and shared with the financial organizations. BGMF is currently drafting information based on the knowledge we have to keep you up to date.  A substantial amount of information is being issued daily and we’re working diligently to understand the best course of action.

At this stage, it might be the latter part of this week or next week before we have clarity on how to proceed with applying for loans and other programs coming out to help businesses.  In the meantime, we are working on internal processes to be ready.  Rest assured, we will be on the forefront of getting this figured out and will communicate with everyone as soon as possible.  Please check back often for updates.

We are happy to talk or lend an empathetic ear, so feel free to reach out.  We don’t know much more than this right now. We recommend you to work with our team to gather and prepare your financial statements and other potential documents that will be required. An initial list of items that may be requested include:

  • 2019 Financial Statements (Balance Sheet and Income Statement)
  • 2020 First Quarter Financial Statements
  • Payroll reports
  • Personal Financial Statements
  • Tax Returns – 2018, if 2019 not prepared

We have Cash Flow templates we could provide or assist with to help you through this difficult time.  We are working daily to get tax returns prepared, financial statements issued and review all the guidance being issued.

The SBA website is also an excellent resource to check for updates and the IRS is putting out information daily.  Our team is happy to assist as needed throughout this process.

All of us at BGMF CPAs thank you and want to ensure we work through this together.

Assistance due to COVID-19

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In response to the economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal government and State of Ohio have already passed legislation or made declarations designed to provide relief and aid to small and midsize businesses and their employees. As with many new pieces of legislation, initially they create more questions than they do answers.

This is certainly true with the COVID-19 related legislation that is being quickly written and rushed through the legislative process.  Often the actual legislation will appoint some other agency with the task of writing the rules, regulations, and guidance required to enforce and interpret the new legislation.

Due to the sweeping impact of some of the COVID-19 legislation, multiple government agencies are tasked with providing this guidance. We often must wait months on these agencies to provide that guidance.   However, due to the urgency of this matter, we have been told that this guidance should be coming in days and weeks rather than months.

At BGMF, we are making every effort to stay on top of and familiarize ourselves with any legislation or relief efforts that may be applicable to our clients. We are here to assist you in any way that we can. Unfortunately, due to the reasons noted above, some questions just can’t be answered at this time.

However, we are consistently monitoring our resources and the applicable government agencies for additional guidance and clarification. Below is a summary of the major legislation and assistance that is currently available. As additional legislation, assistance and guidance becomes available we will keep you updated. If you are aware of something that we have not included below that you think would be helpful to others, please contact us and let us know.

Families First Coronavirus Response Act

  • The Families First Coronavirus Response Act requires certain employers to provide employees with paid sick or family leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19.
  • Applies to most employers with less than 500 employees.
    • Health care workers and emergency responders may be excluded. (We are waiting on additional guidance related to this exclusion.)
    • Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees may be exempt from the extended family leave portion if following the requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business going forward. (We are waiting on additional guidance related to this exemption.)
  • The Act provides that employees of covered employers are eligible for:
    • Two weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick time at 100% the employee’s regular rate of pay (up to maximum of $511 per day) where the employee is unable to work because the employee:
      • is subject to a Federal, State or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19; or
      • has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19; or
      • is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis; or
  • Two weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick time at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay (up to a maximum of $200 per day) because the employee:
  • is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services; or
  • is caring for an individual subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19; or
  • is caring for an individual that has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19; and
  • Up to an additional 10 weeks of paid family leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay (up to a maximum of $200 per day) where an employee, who has been employed for at least 30 calendar days, is unable to work due to a bona fide need for leave to care for a child whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.
    • Consists of 12 weeks in total. The first two weeks can be either unpaid or covered by an employee’s accrued paid time off including the paid sick time mentioned above, followed by up to 10 weeks of paid extended family and medical leave.
  • Introduces two new refundable payroll tax credits, designed to immediately and fully reimburse certain employers, dollar-for-dollar, for the cost of providing Coronavirus-related leave to their employees.
  • Health Insurance premiums paid by the employer during these periods of sick time and family leave may also be reimbursable.
  • Self-Employed taxpayers are eligible and will be reimbursed through a refundable credit against their income tax.
  • Part-time employees are eligible based upon an average number of hours calculation.
  • Allows businesses to retain and access funds that they would otherwise pay to the IRS in payroll taxes. The payroll taxes that are available for retention include withheld federal income taxes, the employee and employer share of Social Security and Medicare taxes. (We are waiting on additional guidance as to how and when this can be implemented.)
    • If there are not sufficient payroll taxes to cover the cost of providing the sick pay and family leave, employers will be able to file a request for an accelerated payment from the IRS. (The IRS expects to process these requests in two weeks or less.)
  • Go to the following address for further information: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic

Tax Filing Deadline and Tax Payments Automatically Postponed

  • The Internal Revenue Service issued IRS Notice 2020-18 that became effective March 20, 2020.
  • The April 15, 2020 deadline has been postponed until July 15, 2020.
  • Any individual, trust, estate, partnerships, association, company or corporation with a Federal income tax return due on April 15, 2020 is automatically postponed until July 15, 2020. In addition, any Federal income tax payments, including estimated tax payments, due from April 15, 2020 to July 15, 2020 will be disregarded in the calculation of penalty and interest.

Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Assistance

  • The SBA provides low-interest, long-term loans for physical and economic damage caused by a declared disaster.
  • The SBA can provide up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses that could have been met had the disaster not occurred.
  • The current interest rate is 3.75% and the term is 30 years or less.
  • Go to the following address for further information: https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/

Unemployment Insurance

  • An executive order issued by Governor DeWine expands flexibility for Ohioans to received unemployment benefits during Ohio’s emergency declaration period.
  • The standard waiting period for eligible Ohioans has been waived.
  • All charges during Ohio’s emergency declaration period will be mutualized.
  • The benefit is typically half of the previous wage.
  • The minimum weekly benefit is $134 and the maximum weekly benefit is $480 (could be higher depending on the number of dependents).
  • Go to the following address for further information: http://jfs.ohio.gov/ouio/CoronavirusAndUI.stm

Deferral of Insurance Premium Payments

  • Effective March 20, 2020, the Ohio Department of Insurance issued Bulletin 2020-3, Health Insurance Coverage Flexibility for Ohio Employees.
  • All insurers must give their insureds the option of deferring premium payments, interest free, for up to 60 days from each original premium due date.

Deferral of Bureau of Workers Compensation Payments

  • The Bureau of Workers Compensation announced that the insurance premiums due for March, April and May for the current policy year may be deferred until June 1, 2020.

Bank Payments

  • Many banks are currently offering assistance to their customers. For example, banks may offer interest only payments for 3-6 months or no payments for 3-6 months. (The amount would be added to the end of the loan.)

If you have questions or need additional information concerning any of these matters, please contact us online or via phone at 937-325-0623 and we will assist you in any way we can.

If you need assistance with filling out forms, putting together financial information, and other aspects of the relief packages please get in touch with us ASAP.  For updates please check this blog, sign up for our newsletter or follow us on Facebook.

Coronovirus Update at BGMF CPAs

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To all our valued clients, friends and family,

As everyone is aware, we are currently living in an unprecedented time and certainly in uncharted territory. The safety of both our employees and clients are of the upmost importance to us. However, as we are forced to alter some of our normal business practices, we do not want to lose sight of providing you, our clients with excellent client service.

The steps being taken by both the federal and state governments, while necessary and critical to the stopping and/or slowing of the spread of the coronavirus, will have negative repercussions on many of our business clients. We are here to assist you in these difficult and unusual times any way possible.  We will make every attempt to familiarize ourselves with any assistance the federal and state governments are offering businesses and individuals. If you are experiencing any negative impacts, please feel free to contact us to discuss what options are available to assist you through these difficult times.

Currently, we ask that if a face-to-face meeting is not absolutely necessary, that you consider other forms of communication for both your safety and the safety of our employees. We have several other options available including video conferencing and a secure portal where documents can be both uploaded and downloaded.

We also ask that if you are dropping off your tax information at our office, that you place it face down in a designated box in our lobby area. If you need to place it in an envelope, please ask and we will provide you with one. At the end of each day that day’s designated box will be placed in our filing room, where it will remain for 48 hours before being handled by anyone in our office. (According to most experts, the coronavirus can live on paper type surfaces for 24 hours.)

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. We appreciate your business and are here to help.

Available Alternatives for Document Sharing and Face-to-Face Meetings

We understand that the various restrictions and guidelines being conveyed from the government and health officials related to the coronavirus crisis can result in both inconvenience and unrest. The safety and comfort of both our clients and employees are our highest priority during these unprecedented times. Included below are the major alternatives to dropping off documents at our office and face-to-face meetings that we have available:

  • SmartVault – SmartVault is a secure document sharing client portal. All documents are encrypted while in transit and while at rest using AES-256 encryption. (The same level of encryption used by banks.) It allows our clients to upload and download documents directly into and from a private file folder. We are also able to upload documents that you can then download, view, and/or print. If you are interested in utilizing SmartVault please send an email to Amy at ajcartwright@springfieldcpas.net. Amy will then send you an “invite” email with instructions on get started using SmartVault.

The most common thing SmartVault is used for is for clients to upload their tax documentation. We can then view and print these documents to prepare your tax return. We can also upload your completed tax return where you can review it and print it if necessary. You will need some type of scanner to upload your documents.

  • Video Conferencing – We have a variety of video conferencing options including Skype for business, Microsoft Teams, FaceTime, Go to Meeting, and Zoom. Video conferencing is a great alternative to face-to-face meetings. All you need is either a webcam, laptop or tablet with a built-in camera, iPad or iPhone, or a Microsoft Surface. If you would prefer to have a video conference, as opposed to a face-to-face meeting, please contact whomever your meeting will be with and they will be happy to work with you to find the most convenient and easiest solution.
  • Fax – Documents can be faxed directly to our office. Our fax number is 937-325-9476.
  • Texting – If you only need to relay a page or two and privacy and security is not a major concern, you can take a picture of the document and text it to us. We all have the capability to print documents directly from our cell phones.

Great client service is always a priority for us and that holds even more true during these unprecedented times. We truly appreciate the fact that you have chosen us to be your tax and accounting service provider.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

We appreciate your understanding in this situation,

Sincerely,

Bennett, Groeber, Mullen & Feltner – BGMF CPA