COVID-19 RESOURCES FOR EASTERN WASHINGTON BUSINESS OWNERS
Disaster Declared: The SBA now offers low-interest loans to business suffering from COVID-19
These low-interest loans for working capital are now available to any small businesses suffering economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak.
SBA disaster assistance is now available in all counties within the state of Washington.
Federal Law Requires Employees Receive Paid Federal Medical Leave and Sick Pay
For companies with under 500 employees, the federal government is mandating that business offer 12 weeks of Family Medical Leave and 2 weeks of federal sick pay to employees that miss work due to COVID-19.
The IRS is offering tax payment and tax filing relief for business owners and taxpayers
The deadline for the filing of 2019 tax returns and the payment of 2019 taxes has been postponed for both individual and corporate filers.
Federal assistance to small businesses in eastern washington
The Federal Government is offering low-interest loans to small businesses affected by COVID-19
Small businesses that have been financially impacted as a direct result of the COVID-19 since Jan. 31 may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses, which could have been met had the disaster not occurred.
Loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. Disaster loans can provide vital economic assistance to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing.
ABCS is offering assistance to small businesses in applying for these loans. Please call or text (509) 717-3038 to start this process immediately.
fEDERAL LAW HAS MANDATED FEDERAL MEDICAL LEAVE AND SICK PAY
What do employers need to know?
The United States government just passed a law with provisions that will affect small to medium sized employers in Eastern Washington.
What should you as a business owner know about this law right now?
-Federal Paid Family Medical Leave
Employees who miss work due to COVID-19 illness or quarantine of themselves or a family member are eligible for paid Family Medical leave. This also applies to employees who miss work to care for children affected by school and day care closures. Employees can take up to 12 weeks, the first two of which may be unpaid. After that, the employee will be paid two-thirds of their regular rate of pay.
-Two Weeks of Federally-Mandated Sick Leave
Employees who miss work for COVID-19 quarantine or illness of themselves or a loved one are eligible to two weeks of paid sick at their regular rate. If the employee must miss work to care for children affected by school and day care closures, they are eligible to receive two-thirds of their regular rate of pay. This federal sick leave is on top of any regular state sick pay the employee has accrued.
Employers that have to pay for the benefits mentioned above will be given refundable tax credits.
The above benefits do not apply to employees laid off due to COVID-19 business closures or lack of work. Employees unemployed for this reason should be directed to the state unemployment offices.
Clients with employees or who are facing closure will be contacted by ABCS with additional details.
Feel free to contact our staff with questions by calling or text (509) 717-3038.
IRS OFFERS PAYMENT RELIEF FOR TAXPAYERS DUE TO COVID-19
Payment Deadline Extended to July 15, 2020
The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service are providing special payment relief to individuals and businesses in response to the COVID-19 Outbreak. The filing deadline for tax returns remains April 15, 2020. The IRS urges taxpayers who are owed a refund to file as quickly as possible. For those who can’t file by the April 15, 2020 deadline, the IRS reminds individual taxpayers that everyone is eligible to request a six-month extension to file their return.
This payment relief includes:
Individuals: Income tax paymentdeadlines for individual returns, with a due date of April 15, 2020, are being automatically extended until July 15, 2020, for up to $1 million of their 2019 tax due. This payment relief applies to all individual returns, including self-employed individuals, and all entities other than C-Corporations, such as trusts or estates. IRS will automatically provide this relief to taxpayers. Taxpayers do not need to file any additional forms or call the IRS to qualify for this relief.
Corporations: For C Corporations, income tax payment deadlines are being automatically extended until July 15, 2020, for up to $10 million of their 2019 tax due.
This relief also includes estimated tax payments for tax year 2020 that are due on April 15, 2020.
Penalties and interest will begin to accrue on any remaining unpaid balances as of July 16, 2020. If you file your tax return or request an extension of time to file by April 15, 2020, you will automatically avoid interest and penalties on the taxes paid by July 15.
The IRS reminds individual taxpayers the easiest and fastest way to request a filing extension is to electronically file Form 4868 through their tax professional, tax software or using the Free File link on IRS.gov. Businesses must file Form 7004.
This relief only applies to federal income tax (including tax on self-employment income) payments otherwise due April 15, 2020, not state tax payments or deposits or payments of any other type of federal tax. Taxpayers also will need to file income tax returns in 42 states plus the District of Columbia. State filing and payment deadlines vary and are not always the same as the federal filing deadline. The IRS urges taxpayers to check with their state tax agencies for those details. More information is available at https://www.taxadmin.org/state-tax-agencies.
