Lion EA

Did she send a Form 1099-MISC for the service rendered?

Yes, 6 May saw a few new &/or revised FAQs, such as #10, #11 and #41 at https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/economic-impact-payment-information-center

My short answer (or the final words in any longer answer) seem to be, "Ask your banker." I tell people (clients and non) that their banker/lender will interpret the SBA regulations re their specific loan. I remind people we do not expect SBA guidance until the middle of May. And, of how many, many times things have changed so far this year!

I also have attended more than one webinar that stated that WC is NOT a payroll cost for PPP. We won't know for sure until about 15 May. However, it will be that client's bank that interprets SBA's final definition of forgiveness for your client, so have your client work with his banker. No matter what, the incurred AND paid seems to be final. And 8/52 of annual seems to be a ratio applied to a lot of expenses.

I've been telling clients to wait for the next round of clarifications.

The phrase I've been seeing is "incurred and paid" and not "accrued." I think the prohibition is that you can't prepay expenses, can't prepay payroll. But, not sure I've heard. And, the last I did hear the SBA is expected to clarify forgiveness regulations about 15 May. Not a helpful date since companies have been receiving their loans already! Really hard to plan, hard to advise our clients.

Yes, filing 2018 or 2019, even if only an EIP 2019, gives the IRS the information they need to disburse an IEP payment. They have stated they will make payments through 31 December 2020. But, they haven't stated when they need taxpayer's information to get a payment out to them by year end. Remember, a taxpayer can still get their EIP credit or any remaining upward adjustment on their 2020 tax return in 2021.

It's not a part of my ProSystem fx. (Don't know about Axcess.) And, there may be other ways to package/buy it. I get the license free and pay a fee for verified signatures and a lesser fee for unverified signatures, invoiced monthly. I've only used it for verified. Because I wasn't using it for my NY commuters, I didn't have many I needed. As luck would have it, I'm working on a NY resident's return right now -- but, she's elderly and forgetful and has no computer/tablet/smart phone at all, so I won't be trying it out on her!

What does her will say? What does her state law say? Court appointed representative?

I also heard the "incurred and paid" in a webinar or two. I also heard suggestions to switch payroll to weekly for the 8 weeks of the measurement period. I think I heard that the SBA is releasing forgiveness guidance about 15 May -- which is well into the period for many borrowers. It's hurry up and wait. Hard to advise our clients.

Yep, CCH's eSign. I've been using it with ProSystem fx for a couple years now. NY, however, will not accept electronic signatures. They have generously said they will accept electronic signatures through this May due to the pandemic. I hope they continue.

If I were going to prepare an EIP return, I would do it on my own software and not on the IRS portal. I would probably charge for it. Especially if not a client, hadn't been a client, not a relative of a client. I have a couple of older clients who do not have to file, well would not need to file if they stopped withholding, but choose to file to start the SOL and just in case their income goes up and.... So we file to get their refunds. We talk about it each year, and they want to have some withholding, just in case. I charge them a small amount for preparing and e-filing their returns. We spend most of the time chatting and catching up. I think they want that more than they want to file a return!

Of course it impacts things if she was paid under the table. Hopefully, she documented all dates, amounts, etc., and is reporting the family to the IL DOL. Did she work for the family during 2019 and receive a W-2? And, she worked as an employee in her second job.

In some states, yes. Check the IL (or appropriate state) website.

Our government just borrows more from China.

The 24-year-old can get his stimulus credit on his 2020 return filed in 2021. Unless the IRS sends stimulus payments based on amended returns when they are finally processed.

How old was the student? Full-time college student?

One of my clients has only Macs and wants her company's books kept only on her computers. I hate QuickBooks for Mac. It's a couple years behind the PC version. Then, I have to export her financials to Excel for her accountant who uses only PCs. I have another client who uses a Mac for himself for radio production, but has PCs for the rest of his staff. He has to use a program (Parallels?) on his Mac to be able to produce documents that his clients can open, Word and Excel, for instance. I don't think much tax software is written for Macs. Research carefully, or you'll end up paying more less useful computers.

Not sure, and I wouldn't be able to tell by looking. The OCR numbers along the bottom are clear. And, the check number appears in multiple places on the check, clearly. The important number, $544, doesn't show up anyplace else on the check in numbers or in words. Before I saw the picture, I'd had her try smoothing it out and scanning it, then using the scan for the front and original for the back for her mobile bank app on her phone. But, once she sent me the picture, I see that a scan doesn't help the missing 5 in $544. She's young, in San Francisco just over a year, had her unemployed brother sleeping on her couch for months, is furloughed or hours/pay cut from her new job, and needs the $544. I'm not sure I asked her enough times if her bank account changed or her address changed since we filed her 2018 returns last year. But the paperwork she signed included her banking information and address. Her W-2s and 1099s used what I now know is her old address. I ALWAYS ask, using numbers from prior year, about bank accounts and addresses, especially the young ones who seem to move each year.

She sent me a picture of the check and envelope. Something grabbed the envelope, poking a hole and scraping the envelope. The check is barely damaged; however, for the amount $544, the fours are scrapped and faint but the 5 is missing, just a hole! She opened up an account on the FTB site to report it. I think she's going to have to wait for a replacement check. Unless the 5 is like a hanging chad that she can push through from the back and tape from the back. But, I think the 5 is just gone. If it were a check from you or me, we would have to write out the amount in words. But, the FTB has numbers only, and the most important number is missing.

Yes, it will be helpful to see the forgiveness regulations. Although, the banks will interpret them. I included my SEP and my SEHI when applying for PPP, included them on my P&L. But my bank would NOT use them because they don't appear on my Schedule C; used line 31 only. If I paid health insurance and SEP contributions for employees and those amounts appeared on my Schedule C, then my bank would've counted them for application purposes.

I think retirement contributions as mentioned by the PPP or other programs refers to employER match of retirement contributions for employEEs only. But, they have totally blurred together in my brain now.

Thank you, Max.

Thanx, JRS.

I wouldn't do it for a client or a non-client. Too much risk that something goes wrong and it's my fault. I wouldn't try to stop someone from doing it himself, because it just might work out fine for him.