On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed a sweeping, $908 billion stimulus deal that will provide coronavirus-related relief to individuals and businesses alike. The deal is the second-largest economic stimulus package ever, behind only the $2 trillion CARES Act that Congress enacted in March.
At this time the legislation includes the following key provisions:
- A second round of stimulus payments, this time up to $600, to workers and families.
- Another round of PPP relief for small businesses, this time totaling $325 billion.
- Expanded PPP eligibility for 501(c)(6) organizations.
- Simplified one-page forgiveness for PPP loans of up to $150,000.
- Deductibility of PPP loan expenses.
Here’s a recap of what’s in the final package. You can read the 5,593-page bill — H.R.133, “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021” — in its entirety here. The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (a.k.a. CARES4) starts on page 1,823 of the pdf / page 1815 of the actual bill.
MACPA leaders visit Congress to build relationships and be heard.
We have been advocating for major parts of this legislation for the past six months, and it appears the bill includes most of our items. However, it does NOT include coronavirus-related liability protections for businesses or new spending for state and local governments. It also does not include relief for remote and mobile workers (S. 3995). It also left out our call for S. 3995 the Remote and Mobile Worker Relief Act.
We will continue to monitor congressional discussions and will update you as developments warrant. Keep an eye on our federal tax and practitioners communities for breaking updates.
The only provisions in question are the $600 individual relief payments which could be changed in a separate bill to up to $2,000 per taxpayer and reductions in spending items in the Appropriations Act that the President is calling for (redlining). Other than those changes we expect the critical business relief provisions to stand as they are in the bill.
Keep in mind that the new PPP funds won’t last long, so you’ll want to act fast. A great way to start is to create your account now on CPA.com’s Business Funding Portal, which offers business financing solutions for CPA firms and their clients. The portal’s features include PPP applications, a one-stop shop for every client’s funding applications, PPP loan forgiveness, and more. It is free for individual small-mid-size businesses and not-for-profits who can submit one application and get funding. Set up your account here.
This federal aid is on top of an additional $180 Million in state aid to Maryland businesses announced by Governor Hogan on December 17th.
CPA Day 2021: We need you!
Since employer liability protections were not included in the latest federal relief package, individual states will determine on their own whether to offer such protections. We have included that as one of our top legislative priorities for our 2021 CPA Day agenda.
That’s just one of the many reasons why we need you to join us at CPA Day. It’s scheduled from 8 to 10 a.m. on Jan. 21, it’s free, it’s worth 2 hours of CPE, and best of all, it’s virtual, so you can attend from home! Most important, it’s the best way to let our lawmakers know where we stand on the issues. Read more about our issues in this post. The more CPAs who register, the louder our voice becomes. Register here.