By Steve Carter, CPA, Principal
ASL Renewable Energy Group
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an array of financial, operational, and production challenges for businesses across many industries. Decreasing demand for products/services, constantly changing government regulations, and erratic consumer spending have left many facing unique challenges. Unfortunately, the renewable energy industry has not escaped the pandemic’s reach. According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA), The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Clean Energy Progress, the pandemic has had an adverse impact on renewable energy investments. Although the causes for the delay are multi-faceted, how the industry recovers and thrives is largely based on government policies and expenditures to implement change. The good news is, several important tax incentives were recently extended and more are awaiting Congressional approval. We have summarized them below. (more…)
By Deepa Bhat, CPA, CFE, ACA, Principal
ASL Construction Group
I was once again at my annual Board retreat (virtual, alas!) for the Builders’ Exchange of Santa Clara, and came away with some fascinating data – both historical and predictive. Like many of us, I was curious to understand the impact of COVID-19 on this industry in 2020. These were the top takeaways from this meeting: (more…)
By Abe Livchitz, CPA, Senior Tax Manager
Action Is Required
The state run CalSavers program was enacted in 2016 to provide employees an opportunity to build retirement savings and let employers avoid administrative fees and fiduciary responsibilities. An email outreach program was launched towards the end of 2020, so you may have received a communication similar to the one below stating that you are required to register for the CalSavers retirement plan program. Currently, this requirement only applies to California employers with more than 100 employees, therefore registration may not be required at this time. (more…)
By Samantha Ramirez, CPA, Tax Manager
ASL Real Estate Group
A like-kind exchange, commonly referred to as a “1031 exchange”, allows for the deferral of gains from the sale or exchange of business or investment property, as long as the exchanged properties are considered like-kind. Any money or property received that is not like-kind is ineligible for gain deferral and is considered a taxable event. After the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the classification of like-kind was limited to include only real property. With the new, narrower definition of like-kind, the IRS issued proposed regulations in June 2020 that defined real property for the first time for purposes of Internal Revenue Code Section 1031. Recently, the IRS issued final regulations that adopted most of these proposed regulations, with some notable changes and clarifications. Below is a summary of the most recent changes. (more…)
When the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) dropped the corporate tax rate to 21 percent, it triggered a new wave of interest in a somewhat obscure provision of the Internal Revenue Code, Section 1202, which could enable shareholders of qualifying businesses to avoid paying federal income tax on the gains they realize from the sale of their stock. (more…)
Categories: Uncategorized
The Employee Retention Credit was enacted in March 2020 as part of the CARES Act. It was enhanced and expanded when business relief legislation passed in December 2020 making it a more valuable option to generate cash flow. The amount of the credit was significantly increased, employers are now allowed to claim the credit until June 30, 2021, and the restriction that prevented employers with PPP loans from claiming this credit was repealed retroactively to March 2020. This repeal offers a significant opportunity for PPP loan borrowers to now benefit from this credit.
For employers eligible in 2020, the credit can be claimed on amended payroll tax returns and offset the employer portion of Social Security tax, but any excess credit is fully refundable. For 2021, employers can reduce their current federal payroll tax deposits and even request an advanced refund from the IRS. (more…)
After several rounds of revisions and reversals, the IRS is about to release its final version of instructions for partnerships to use when calculating and reporting their partners’ capital accounts on Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), Partner’s Share of Income, Deductions, Credits, etc. The instructions, which the IRS is expected to finalize within a few weeks, will apply to the 2020 tax year—the tax preparation season that is already underway for most organizations.
The IRS says it will provide penalty relief for the 2020 requirement as long as partnerships “take ordinary and prudent business care in following the form instructions”. On January 21, 2021, the IRS issued Notice 2021-13 providing additional penalty relief applicable to the calculation of beginning capital balances. Compliance could require considerable data gathering and complex calculations, so partnerships should begin working on these tasks immediately. (more…)
