Western CPE Blog
Breaking tax and accounting news and analysis from the experts at Western CPE.
Guest Post: Divorces to Surge in Post-Pandemic Era
By: Danny Santucci, BA, JD, is a prolific author of tax and financial books and articles. In 1980, Danny established the law firm of Santucci, Potter, and Leanders in Irvine, California, and went into sole practice in 1995. His practice emphasizes business taxation, real estate law, and estate planning. Speaking to more than 100 groups nationally each year, he is known for spicing up his extensive expertise with an incredible sense of humor. Read Danny’s full Instructor bio or browse his CPE courses here. While the coronavirus emergency has produced many unexpected consequences, rising tensions amid quarantine, job loss, financial problems, …
Guest Post: PPP Interim Final Rule
By: SBA and Treasury Release Interim Final Rules on PPP Loan ForgivenessLate Friday evening, SBA and Treasury released “interim final rules” to further explain the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness process. Here are a few highlights from SBA-2020-0032 (26 pages) for borrowers and SBA-2020-0033 (19 pages) for lenders. Loan Forgiveness ProcessTo receive loan forgiveness, a borrower must complete and submit the Loan Forgiveness Application (SBA Form 3508) to the lender. The lender will review the application and make a decision regarding loan forgiveness. The lender has 60 days from receipt of the completed application to issue a decision to SBA. If …
Guest Post: FASB Extends Effective Dates for Revenue Recognition and Leases
By: Jeff Sailor, CPA
Have you taken a class from Jeff Sailor? He’s one of our favorites and one of the funniest. For more than 10 years, Jeff has served as an AICPA peer reviewer, focusing on small firms and sole practitioners. Jeff has managed his own accounting firm in Ocala, Florida, since 1984. During that time, he has also developed unique auditing approaches and auditing software. To read more about Jeff or see his coursework, check here. FASB Extends Effective Dates for Revenue Recognition and Leases At their board meeting on Wednesday, May 20, the FASB decided to extend the effective dates for the …
2020 Spring Federal Tax Update
By: Western CPE
Hot off the press, and just in time for Self-Study Saturday, we’re very pleased to release Vern and Sharon’s first six courses in the 2020 Federal Tax Update series, including essential information on changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Combining the real-life experience of a practicing CPA with essential down-to-earth tax materials in a high-tech format, these in-depth Self-Study courses will enable participants to quickly understand and implement individual, real estate, and business tax issues in a climate of COVID-19 changes. You’ll receive the most complete and up-to-date reference manual, written by renowned tax experts, Vern Hoven and Sharon Kreider. …
Guest Post: Pandemics and Business Planning (podcast)
By: Best Accounting Practices with Steve Bragg, episode #287 — Pandemics and Business Planning In this 8-minute episode of Accounting Best Practices with Steve Bragg, Steve covers supply chain considerations, the importance of lowering your break-even point, and borrowing strategies to ensure your business can access cash when you need it. Head over to Accounting Tools for a complete episode guide — there are nearly 300 episodes to choose from, and most clock in under 10-minutes. His podcast Accounting Best Practices with Steve Bragg has been downloaded more than 4.4 million times. A Few Courses by Steven M. Bragg, CPA See All Steven …
PPP Loan Forgiveness Application Released by the SBA
By: Forty-two days after the first Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Applications were accepted, the SBA released the PPP Loan Forgiveness Application. SBA Form 3508 includes 2 pages of instructions, Schedule A and its worksheet for computations, and 7 pages of application. That’s 11 pages and it’s just the start as SBA has yet to release FAQs or “interim final rules” to provide friendlier and more complete details for the forgiveness application. According to the SBA, the form and instructions include several measures to “reduce compliance burdens and simplify the process for borrowers” including: Options for borrowers to calculate payroll costs …
2020 Easy Update — Download a Self-Study Excerpt
By: Western CPE
Danny Santucci’s Easy Updates are wildly popular tax mini-courses examining key individual, business, retirement, and estate tax provisions recently enacted or indexed for inflation. His overviews are easy to reference and emphasize the “big chunks” in order bring professional knowledge up to speed.
Coronavirus Tax News Update
IRS and the Small Business Administration have been working on the details that go along with the implementation of the CARES Act — albeit slowly. Here are three pieces of news from IRS and SBA IRS Released a Draft of a Revised Form 941 That Includes a Page of New Lines for COVID-19 Related Payroll Credits The IRS released a draft of a revised Form 941. The revised form includes 23 new data entries to accommodate three COVID-19 related payroll tax credits. The revised form reports the amount of payroll taxes that were retained by the employer in anticipation of …
New Self-Study Courses
By: Western CPE
May Releases Check out our collection of the 12 new or newly updated Self-Study courses so far this month!Get connected with the most up-to-date content in accounting, taxes, auditing, and personal development categories. Our new courses feature some of our best instructors including Steven M. Bragg, CPA, Danny Santucci, JD, and Mary S. Schaeffer, MBA. Want to view our full Self-Study library? Link below to browse! Browse Here ACCOUNTING TAXES AUDITING PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
He’s Taking the “Boring” Out of CPE
By: Western CPE
“Fun,” “creative,” and “outside-the-box” are not terms that often come to mind when one thinks of CPE education. One of Western CPE’s most popular instructors, Jeff Sailor brings expertise and a singular flair to his coursework, designed to combat “boring CPE.” With 30 years accounting experience and more than 10 as an AICPA peer reviewer, he is as knowledgeable as he is thoughtful about his presentation. Read more about Jeff Instructor Spotlight Check out his CPE Jeff Sailor Courses Stay connected with these top accounting & auditing webcasts, covering the ins and outs of the most relevant accounting principles in …
Guest Post: Relief for Audit Reporting
By: Jeff Sailor, CPA
One of Western CPE’s most popular instructors, Jeff Sailor brings expertise and a singular flair to his coursework, designed to combat “boring CPE.” With 30 years accounting experience and more than 10 as an AICPA peer reviewer, he’s as knowledgeable as he is thoughtful about his presentation. Read more about Jeff in our Instructor Spotlight and check out his CPE here. On May 1, 2020 the Auditing Standards Board issued SAS 141, which made official the decisions made at their April 20th meeting. This update extends the effective date for audit standards 134-140, which were all to be effective for periods ending after …
IRS Say PPP Loan Forgiveness Makes Expenses Not Deductible
As we struggled through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications this last month, something didn’t make sense in the way that the loan forgiveness worked. The recurring question we came up with was “How are expenses treated if they are paid with tax-free money?” We asked and the IRS answered. In Notice 2020-32, the IRS says that no deduction is allowed for an expense that is otherwise deductible if the payment of the expense results in forgiveness of a PPP loan. A recipient of a PPP loan can receive forgiveness of indebtedness on the loan in an amount equal …
Employer Payroll Tax Delay Can Help Cash-Strapped Businesses
The employer’s share of Social Security Tax (but not Medicare tax) can be delayed, and paid over two years. Many business clients may not know that the deferral applies to:Self-employed individualsRecipients of PPP loans, but only until the date of PPP loan forgivenessThe President is about to sign legislation to provide more funding to the PPP loans and SBA’s EIDL. Once we see the details, watch for an eTax Alert in your mailbox.EMPLOYER PAYROLL TAX DELAYEmployers must withhold social security taxes on employee wages. Self-employed individuals are subject to self-employment tax. Under CARES, taxpayers are allowed to defer paying the …
Guest Post: Current Expected Credit Losses (CECL) and the Virus
By: Jeff Sailor, CPA
One of Western CPE’s most popular instructors, Jeff Sailor brings expertise and a singular flair to his coursework, designed to combat “boring CPE.” With 30 years accounting experience and more than 10 as an AICPA peer reviewer, he’s as knowledgeable as he is thoughtful about his presentation.Read more about Jeff in our Instructor Spotlight and check out his CPE here.When I got up this morning and read my local newspaper, I was a little surprised by a prominent article I found. Please understand that in my paper, most of the articles usually begin with “Florida Man…” and end with something dumb that someone …
A Client Letter on the PPP Loan
The CARES Act provided for $359 billion in funding for The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. The money is quickly being exhausted by those who applied early. It’s not too late to apply now as Secretary of Treasury Mnuchin has asked Congress for another $250 billion. A lot of us were busy with tax returns (even if the due date was delayed) and we didn’t get information on these loans to our cash-strapped businesses and to our self-employed clients who are suffering from the Coronavirus slowdown.Do you need a client letter to send out now? Our colleague Alice Orzechowski has …
COVID-19 Relief for Taxpayers Claiming NOLs
TCJA made drastic changes to net operating losses (NOLs) by eliminating carrybacks, allowing only carryforwards, and limiting carryforwards to 80% of taxable income in the carryforward year. Then along came the coronavirus and Congress changed its mind in order to provide cash to virus-strapped businesses.The CARES Act amended §172(b)(1) to provide for a carryback of any net operating loss (NOL) arising in a taxable year beginning after Dec. 31, 2017, and before Jan. 1, 2021, to each of the five taxable years preceding the taxable year in which the loss arises. In other words, NOL carryback rules for tax years …
IRS Extends Second Quarter Estimate Due Date— PLUS More
Last month the IRS announced that taxpayers generally have until July 15, 2020 to file and pay federal income taxes originally due on April 15. Notice 2020-23 extends more deadlines to July 15, 2020. The extensions generally now apply to all taxpayers that have a filing or payment deadline falling on or after April 1, 2020, and before July 15, 2020. Individuals, trusts, estates, corporations, and other non-corporate tax filers qualify for the extra time.The following are extended to July 15, 2020:Both the first and second quarter estimated tax paymentsFiscal year corporations with a due date between April 1 and July 15Form …
Guest Post: Financial Reporting and COVID-19
By: Jeff Sailor, CPA
One of Western CPE’s most popular instructors, Jeff Sailor brings expertise and a singular flair to his coursework, designed to combat “boring CPE.” With 30 years accounting experience and more than 10 as an AICPA peer reviewer, he’s as knowledgeable as he is thoughtful about his presentation.Read more about Jeff in our Instructor Spotlight and check out his CPE here.Financial Reporting and the VirusAs most people are working together to ensure the safety of their family and those in their communities, I believe it’s safe to assume that financial statements disclosures are not high on your priority list. However, the potential impact of …
SBA Releases “Interim Final Rule” on Paycheck Protection Program Loans
SBA Answers Questions in its “Interim Final Rule” on Paycheck Protection Program LoansCoronavirus has caused panics — panics over toilet paper, Lysol wipes, beans, and masks. But another panic has begun — the panic over Paycheck Protection Program Loans. Included in the CARES Act is a $349 billion forgivable loan program to help struggling employers pay wages, rent, mortgage interest, and utilities for eight weeks. Opening day for applications was April 3, 2020.For a basic explanation to use for your client, the SBA has posted a Small Business Guidance and Loan Resources, and the US Chamber of Commerce has posted its Small …
RETIREMENT CHANGES IN THE CARES ACT
The Coronavirus has infected our personal and professional lives in many way. After at a lot of talk, Congress did something! On Mar. 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, (CARES Act, HR 748), a $2.2 trillion stimulus package to mitigate the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.CARES includes retirement plan changes that are important to communicate to our clients.Temporary Waiver of RMDsUnder §401(a)(9), a retirement plan or IRA owner must take a required minimum distribution (RMD) annually once the owner reaches age 72. However, for calendar year 2020, CARES waives the required …