Your McCarthy Update 

Marty McCarthy, CPA, CCIFP
Focused on You. Dedicated to Your Success.
November 23, 2020

McCarthy Thought Leadership
(CE This Week) The Lease Accounting Fallout From COVID-19. Many contractors were relieved that the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued an Accounting Standards Update (ASU) on June 3, 2020. It grants a one-year effective date delay applying the lease accounting and revenue recognition standards due to COVID-19. Early application continues to be permitted. Contractors may apply the new leases standard for fiscal years beginning after Dec. 15, 2021, and to interim periods within fiscal years beginning after Dec. 15, 2022. Learn more from Matt Boland.

Accounting and Tax News
(Accounting Today) The Craziest Work-From-Home Expenses of 2020. Employees working from home during the coronavirus pandemic claimed some outlandish expenses this year, including pricey exercise bikes, facelifts and private jets. Learn more.

(US News and World Report) How to Choose a Health Savings Account.   If you have a high-deductible health insurance policy, you have a ticket to a special benefit: You can contribute to a health savings account, which is a rare way to get a triple tax break. Your contributions are pretax (or tax-deductible), the money grows tax-deferred in the account and you can withdraw it tax-free for eligible medical expenses at any time, either now or in the future. Learn more.
 
Business News
(GlobeStreet.com) Diversity Yields Bottom Line Benefits. Committing to diversity isn’t just the right thing to do. It can make business sense, according to Leah Stearns, CBRE’s Chief Financial Officer. Discover why.

Construction News
(CE This Week) What Is the No. 1 Risk for Construction, Heading Into 2021? Read what construction executives have to say.

(CE This Week) Safety and Risk Management in the COVID-19 Era. Safety measures have always been a paramount consideration for construction companies, whether protecting the jobsite with specific materials, such as site fencing, debris netting, and safety harnesses, or protecting the workers with hard hats, safety glasses, and protective gloves. In the era of COVID-19, contractors are practicing these good safety and welfare measures, as they have always done, in addition to COVID-specific measures. Safety comes naturally to most contractors, albeit there are fewer employees working onsite due to worker capacity restrictions. Learn more.

(Construction Dive) Pennsylvania Issues New COVID-19 Measures That Affect Construction. Learn more.
 
(New Jersey Business) Being Proactive Can Reduce COVID-19 Liability. Companies can reduce their liability in the workplace with well-thought-out safety policies and informed employees. Learn how.
 
COVID-19 News
(Journal of Accountancy) IRS Doubles Down on Nondeductibility of PPP-Funded Expenses. In guidance issued late on Wednesday, the IRS reiterated its position that taxpayers cannot claim a deduction for any otherwise deductible expense if the payment of the expense results in forgiveness of a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan because the income associated with the forgiveness is excluded from gross income under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, P.L. 116-136. The guidance came in the form of a revenue ruling (Rev. Rul. 2020-27), which addresses the issue of borrowers who pay expenses in 2020 but whose PPP loan is not forgiven until 2021, and a revenue procedure (Rev. Proc. 2020-51) that provides a safe harbor for PPP borrowers that have their loan forgiveness denied or who choose not to request loan forgiveness. Read more.
 
(New Jersey Business) Institutional Construction Concerns. How builders are delivering social distancing solutions in a surprisingly busy institutional real estate market. Read more.
 
(The New York Times) Many Employers Avoid Coronavirus Tests Over Cost, Not Availability. A survey sheds light on why many companies aren’t testing workers. There is also “confusion and uncertainty as to how tests work,” a researcher said. Learn more.

We will continue to keep you updated. Please visit our COVID-19 Resource Page for more alerts.

Feel free to contact any member of our team at (610) 828-1900 (PA) or (732) 341-3893 (NJ) with questions. Rich Higgins, CPA, managing principal – New Jersey office can be contacted at Richard.Higgins@MCC-CPAs.com. I can be reached at Marty.McCarthy@MCC-CPAs.comAs always, we are happy to help.

Stay safe,

Marty McCarthy, CPA, CCIFP
Managing Partner
McCarthy & Company

Disclaimer: This alert is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Information contained in this communication is not intended or written to be used as tax advice, and cannot be used by the recipient to avoid penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code. We strongly advise you to seek professional assistance with respect to your specific issue(s).