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While many ACRA member firms are continuing to conduct fieldwork and other operations right now, preparing their businesses for any potential negative effects is on the minds of many in the industry right now. Two recent announcements from the federal government - extension of the tax payment deadline and the availability of disaster relief loans for small businesses - can help both business owners and employees preserve cash at this time. More information on both of these announcements is below.

The US Department of Treasury has announced an extension on the April 15 tax payment deadlines. Individuals can defer tax payments of up to $1 million for 90 days, which extends the April 15 deadline to July 14, 2020. This is intended to cover individuals and small businesses, including partnerships and S corporations. Corporations can defer tax payments of up to $10 million for 90 days. 

There are no special forms that need to be filed in order to take advantage of these extensions. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin remarked:

"If you owe a payment to the IRS, you can defer up to $1 million as an individual — and the reason why we are doing $1 million is because that covers lots of pass-throughs and small businesses — and $10 million to corporations, interest-free and penalty-free for 90 days. All you have to do is file your taxes, you'll automatically not get charged interest and penalties.

While the payment deadline has been extended, the filing deadline has NOT - it is still April 15. More information on the tax payment extension can be found here.

The Small Business Administration is offering low-interest loans of up to $2 million as a part of their Disaster Relief Lending. The process of applying for an SBA loan is a bit more complicated than for conventional loans, but the advantage lies in higher amounts, lower interest rates, and longer repayment terms - and it is partially guaranteed by the government. Qualifying businesses can submit their applications online directly to the SBA.

SBA disaster relief loans have been used to help small businesses stay afloat after natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods. You can read more about how businesses have used SBA disaster relief funds in this piece from Business News Daily that compares SBA and conventional loans.

To qualify, a business must prove it has been negatively economically affected by COVID-19, can show that financing is not available elsewhere and meets the small business threshold criteria. More information and directions for applying are available on the SBA Disaster Relief website.