by The MDTAXES Network | Nov 23, 2020 | 2020 November, COVID-19
With COVID-19 sadly on the increase, employers are asking us more questions than ever about their responsibilities to pay their staff who cannot come to work for COVID related reasons.
Basically, if you have an employee who cannot come in to work for COVID related reasons, the Federal Government has enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) which is currently law through December 31, 2020. Please Note: FFCRA applies to businesses that are open and have staff not able to work for various COVID reasons. More info is available at: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employer-paid-leave.
If your practice pays FFCRA wages, you are eligible to receive an immediate dollar-for-dollar reimbursement of the FFCRA wages paid through payroll tax credits. Your payroll service should be able to help you with this.
If you have an employee who can’t work due to COVID reasons:
If the leave is for one of the following three reasons, then you are required to pay a full-time employee for up to 80 hours of leave and a part-time employee for the number of hours of leave that the employee works on average over a two-week period. Employees taking leave shall be paid at either their regular rate or the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher, up to $511 per day and $5,110 in the aggregate (over a 2-week period). This provision applies if your employee:
- is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
- has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19;
- is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis.
If the leave is for one of the following two reasons, then a full-time employee is eligible for up to 80 hours of leave, and a part-time employee is eligible for the number of hours of leave that the employee works on average over a two-week period. Employees taking leave shall be paid at 2/3 their regular rate or 2/3 the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher, up to $200 per day and $2,000 in the aggregate (over a 2-week period). This provision applies if your employee:
- is caring for an individual subject to order #1 or #2 above;
- is experiencing any other substantially-similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of Labor and Treasury.
If the leave is for the following reason, then a full-time employee is eligible for up to 10 weeks of additional leave at 40 hours a week, and a part-time employee is eligible for leave for the number of hours that the employee is normally scheduled to work over that period. Employees taking leave shall be paid at 2/3 their regular rate or 2/3 the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher, up to $200 per day and $10,000 in the aggregate. This provision applies if your employee:
- is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or childcare provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19.
Practices with fewer than 50 employees might be exempt from this provision of the FFCRA. More info is available at: https://schwartzaccountants.com/2020/10/are-you-required-to-pay-staff-who-cant-work.-due-to-childcare-issues/.
Please note that if a business is shut down, then employees will file for unemployment instead of having the business owners pay their wages under FFCRA.
by The MDTAXES Network | Nov 23, 2020 | 2020 November, COVID-19
On November 17th, the IRS issued guidance on how the PPP Loan forgiveness impacts how businesses will deduct expenses paid with the PPP funds. According to the IRS Bulletin at: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USIRS/bulletins/2acfa3f:
Revenue Ruling 2020-27 provides guidance on whether a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan participant that paid or incurred certain otherwise deductible expenses can deduct those expenses in the taxable year in which the expenses were paid or incurred if, at the end of such taxable year, the taxpayer reasonably expects to receive forgiveness of the covered loan. The revenue ruling also provides guidance if, as of the end of the 2020 taxable year, the PPP loan participant has not applied for forgiveness, but intends to apply in the next taxable year.
Revenue Ruling 2020-27 available at: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-20-27.pdf provides a variety of examples, and comes to this conclusion:
HOLDING A taxpayer that received a covered loan guaranteed under the PPP and paid or incurred certain otherwise deductible expenses listed in section 1106(b) of the CARES Act may not deduct those expenses in the taxable year in which the expenses were paid or incurred if, at the end of such taxable year, the taxpayer reasonably expects to receive forgiveness of the covered loan on the basis of the expenses it paid or accrued during the covered period, even if the taxpayer has not submitted an application for forgiveness of the covered loan by the end of such taxable year.
There is still a chance that Congress will clarify their intent that the PPP should NOT be taxable to small businesses who received these loans. Even so, with the prospect that nothing will happen on this matter until after Biden takes office on January 20th, we’re assuming that expenses paid with the PPP loan that will be forgiven will essentially be non-deductible to practice owners in 2020.
by The MDTAXES Network | Nov 23, 2020 | 2020 November, COVID-19
Code Section 139 starts with this general rule: Gross income shall not include any amount received by an individual as a qualified disaster relief payment. In other words, your practice deducts any money paid out to you and selected staff under Section 139 while you and those staff members owe no taxes on amounts received.
For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘qualified disaster relief payment’’ means any amount paid to or for the benefit of an individual—
- to reimburse or pay reasonable and necessary personal, family, living, or funeral expenses incurred as a result of a qualified disaster,
- to reimburse or pay reasonable and necessary expenses incurred for the repair or rehabilitation of a personal residence or repair or replacement of its contents to the extent that the need for such repair, rehabilitation, or replacement is attributable to a qualified disaster,
- by a person engaged in the furnishing or sale of transportation as a common carrier by reason of the death or personal physical injuries incurred as a result of a qualified disaster, or
- if such amount is paid by a Federal, State, or local government, or agency or instrumentality thereof, in connection with a qualified disaster in order to promote the general welfare,
but only to the extent any expense compensated by such payment is not otherwise compensated for by insurance or otherwise.
Bloomberg Tax posted a very informative article about Section 139, including expenses that your practice can pay to you and your employees as a tax-free benefit, at: https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report/insight-disaster-relief-payments-tax-efficient-assistance-to-employees-impacted-by-covid-19.
Dental Economics also posted a very informative article, including a template of a form to use to document the reimbursements you make to yourself and your staff at: https://www.dentaleconomics.com/money/tax-strategies/article/14186221/utilize-taxfree-covid19-reimbursements-for-you-and-your-dental-office-staff
Please read through these two articles and consider having your practice issue checks prior to December 31st reimbursing you and selected staff for unreimbursed medical expenses, home office expenses, increased childcare expenses, and other expenses that are considered “Ordinary and Necessary” during these unprecedented times. Please note that you are not required to prepare a written plan for this valuable employee benefit and can choose which employees to include in this tax-free benefit.
by The MDTAXES Network | Nov 20, 2020 | 2020 November
Presented by Andrew Schwartz, CPA, Founder of The MDTAXES Network
Wednesday, December 16, 2020 – from 12 Non – 12:45 pm
2020 has been one of the most challenging years for practice owners. Join Andrew Schwartz, CPA, as he discusses actions to take before December 31st to lower your tax liabilities and get your practice’s financial house in order for year end. Andrew will also cover steps you can take as a practice owner now to ensure 2021 is successful.
by The MDTAXES Network | Nov 2, 2020 | 2020 November
Most years, the government bumps up the maximum Social Security taxes that you can pay. For 2021, the maximum wage base jumps to $142,800, an increase of $5,100, or 3.7%, over the max of $137,700 that was in place for 2020.
At a rate of 6.2%, the maximum Social Security taxes that your employer will withhold from your salary is $8,854. This is $317 higher than the 2020 max of $8,537.
How is this increase calculated? According to the Social Security Administration, the annual change is based on the National Wage Index.
Higher Medicare Taxes Due To The Affordable Care Act:
Starting back in 2013, the employee portion of the Medicare tax jumps from the current rate of 1.45% to 2.35% on earned income in excess of $200k for single individuals and $250k for married couples filing a joint tax return. As of now, the employer will continue to match their employees’ Medicare taxes at a rate of 1.45%, which means the total Medicare tax will be 3.8% for high-income taxpayers. This tax is reported on the Form 8959.
For example, if you’re single, and earn $500k from your job, expect to pay $2,700 in additional Medicare taxes (($500k – $200k) * .9%) for 2013 and beyond.
To increase taxes for high-income individuals even more, the Medicare tax will also apply to unearned income for the first time since this tax was enacted. People over the $200k or $250k threshold should expect to pay Medicare taxes at a rate of 3.8% on interest, dividends, capital gains, and net rental income (except for when you rent office space you own to your practice) beginning in 2013. You will pay this tax in addition to any federal and state income taxes due on this income. This tax is reported on the Form 8960.
Calculating the Self-employment Tax:
If you’re self-employed and earn more than $400 in net profit from your business, you’re subject to social security and Medicare taxes as well. Known as the “self-employment tax”, you’ll need to complete a Schedule SE to calculate this tax, and then report the amount due on your Form 1040.
The self-employment tax is based on a social security tax rate of 12.4% and a Medicare tax rate of 2.9%. These rates are double those paid by employees, since a self-employed person must pay both the employee’s portion and the employer’s portion of both taxes. Remember, when you work as an employee, your employer matches the Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from your pay.
Unlike most other taxes, when dealing with self-employment taxes, the more you earn, the less you pay in taxes. If you earn income as an employee and as an independent contractor, and your combined income exceeds $137,700 in 2020, make sure to complete Section B of the Schedule SE. Otherwise, your tax calculation will be incorrect and you’ll end up overpaying your self-employment taxes.
Do You Work For More Than One Employer in 2020 and Earn More Than $137,700?
For 2020, each of your employers withholds social security taxes from the first $137,700 that you earn from them. If you work for more than one employer and your total salary from all sources exceeds that threshold, you’ll have excess social security taxes withheld. Make sure to claim a credit for these excess taxes on your 1040 as additional federal taxes paid in.
For Example:
Let’s say you work for two employers and earn $100,000 from each employer. Employer #1 withholds $6,200 in social security taxes ($100,000 * 6.2%). Employer #2 also withholds $6,200 in social security taxes – for a total of $12,400 in social security taxes withheld during the year. Since the maximum social security taxes that you should pay through payroll withholdings for 2020 is limited to $8,537, the excess of $3,863 counts as additional federal income taxes paid in by you.
by The MDTAXES Network | Nov 2, 2020 | 2020 November, COVID-19
As we posted last month, the HHS announced that additional Provider Relief Funds are available to healthcare professionals. You can read that post at: https://schwartzaccountants.com/2020/10/hhs-announces-additional-provider-relief-funds-application-due-11-6/.
Phase-3 has been expanded to include previously ineligible providers including behavioral health practitioners and also those healthcare providers that began practicing during the first quarter of 2020.
The deadline to file the online application is Friday November 6th. This is a great opportunity for eligible practices that haven’t submitted for this subsidy yet and should now receive a taxable grant equal to 2% of their 2019 patient revenue. To file, please first download a copy of your 2019 tax return that reflects your practice income. Next, generate two quarterly Profit and Loss reports either from your QuickBooks or using Excel – one for the first two quarters of 2019 and a second for the first two quarters of 2020. As part of competing the online application, you’ll upload PDFs of your tax return and both P&L reports.
More info is available at https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/provider-distribution-instructions.pdf and https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/terms-and-conditions-phase-3-general-distribution-relief-fund.pdf?language=en. As always, feel free to submit this online application on your own. Or we can submit the application on your behalf for a fee of $500 per application filed.
Please remember that according to the HHS at: https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/cares-act-provider-relief-fund/reporting-auditing/index.html, “All recipients of more than $10,000 of Provider Relief Fund (PRF) payments are required to comply with the reporting requirements described in the Terms and Conditions and specified in future directions issued by the Secretary.”
Required reporting includes lost revenues and/or expenses attributable to coronavirus, as well as other assistance and subsidies received during 2020.
Key dates
- January 15, 2021: reporting system opens for providers
- February 15, 2021: first reporting deadline for all providers on use of funds
- July 31, 2021: final reporting deadline for providers who did not fully expend PRF funds prior to December 31, 2020
For more info about the HHS Provider Relief Fund subsidies, please view the summary of reporting guidelines for payments exceeding $10,000 – PDF or the Final Reporting Data Elements – PDF.
