Financial

A federal tax credit for the purchase and installation costs of a residential solar system is fading away. After being 30% of the cost for several years through 2019, the credit amount drops to 26% in 2020 and then 22% in 2021, the final year of the credit.

Good news – you have an extra $24,000, and you’ve decided to invest it in the stock market. It’s always nice to have investable cash on hand, but you also might feel as if the pressure is on. Nobody enjoys seeing the market take a dive shortly after they jump in. Unfortunately, we never know when it might do exactly that.

President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum on August 8, 2020, that directs the Treasury Secretary to use his authority to defer the withholding, deposit and payment of employees’ portions of Social Security taxes from September 1 through December 31, 2020. The goal is to put more money in the pockets of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency.

We are still waiting for the dust to settle on what President Trump’s executive orders mean for taxpayers and business owners. There is a lot of talk about legal challenges and how Congress may react, but here is a summary of what we know now.

Temporary Payroll Tax Relief

The global coronavirus pandemic has changed every single facet of our world – from the way we work to how we live our day-to-day lives – and we have been forced to quickly adjust.

Unfortunately, there are those out there who seek to take advantage of this turbulent time.

The utility of living consists not in the length of days but in the use of time.

— Michel de Montaigne

Under new guidelines that apply only to the 2020 tax year, you can now donate 100% of your adjusted gross income and have it all offset your taxable income completely, as opposed to the usual 60% it was capped at before.

“All media shares one thing: Someone created it. And it was created for a reason. Understanding that reason is the basis of media literacy.”

— Common Sense Media

When you are self-employed with no employees, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a COVID-19 gift designed to help you get through this pandemic.

If you now have your PPP funds, we have identified the following insights for you.

1. New Law, Enacted June 5, 2020, Creates Easier PPP Loan Forgiveness

COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on all aspects of American businesses, but perhaps none have been as severely affected as small business owners. Surviving this disaster will require more than just time: you will need to take a pragmatic view of what has happened and what steps you are willing and able to take in order to bounce back. Here are our suggestions: