COVID-19: Updates For Your Business
We wanted to provide our valued clients with the most current information available regarding the COVID-19 legislation and small business relief initiatives available. Please keep in mind that information is changing by the hour, so we will continue to monitor the news as it unfolds.  
Here’s a summary of what we know today:

  • Federal income tax payments and 1st quarter 2020 Federal estimated tax payments – both normally due on April 15, 2020 – are now due JULY 15, 2020. This applies on payments of up to $1,000,000. No penalties or interest will be accrued until after that date.
  • Indiana income tax payments and Indiana 1st quarter estimated tax payments – both normally due on April 15, 2020 – are now due JULY 15, 2020.
  • Federal and state returns are also now due JULY 15, 2020.
  • Unemployment Insurance (UI) is available to Hoosier workers who are out of work through no fault of their own; this includes employees impacted by a temporary layoff.
  • The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6021) established several tax credits for employers who provide paid sick leave or family/medical leave for their employees who miss work for various coronavirus-related reasons.  Employers with under 50 employees may be exempt from this; rules for exemption will be forthcoming.
  • The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering designated states (including Indiana) low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus.
  • If you have an existing loan, consider calling your bank and asking about payment deferrals and their plans for navigating this crisis.
FEDERAL TAX PAYMENTS
Federal income tax payments that are usually due on April 15, 2020 have been postponed until July 15, 2020. Additionally, 1st quarter 2020 estimated Federal income tax payments normally due on April 15, 2020 have also been extended until July 15. 2020. Payments up to $1,000,000 will be postponed without interest or penalty. Beginning July 16, 2020, any unpaid balance will begin to accrue penalty and interest.
INDIANA TAX PAYMENTS
Indiana has also delayed income tax payments and 1st quarter 2020 estimated tax payments - normally due on April 15, 2020 - until July 15, 2020.  
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE BENEFITS
The state will interpret Indiana’s unemployment laws to the broadest extent possible to cover Hoosiers who are out of work because of COVID-19.
  • Benefits will be paid to individuals who file their initial unemployment claims late.
  • The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) will seek federal authorization to provide unemployment benefits for those who are not otherwise eligible for unemployment, such individuals who have recently started a job.
  • For employers, DWD will not assess certain experience rate penalties because of employees who receive unemployment benefits because of COVID-19.
FAMILIES FIRST CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE ACT
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act was passed on March 18, 2020. 
Small businesses with less than 50 employees may be exempt if providing leave “would jeopardize the viability of the business as an ongoing concern”. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has not yet clarified how these exemptions will be made.
In general, the Act requires employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide both paid and unpaid public health emergency leave to certain employees through December 31, 2020. The emergency leave generally is available when an employee who has been employed for at least 30 days is unable to work or telework due to a need for leave to care for a son or daughter under age 18 because a school or place of care has been closed, or a childcare provider is unavailable, due to an emergency with respect to COVID-19 that is declared by a federal, state, or local authority. The first 10 days of leave may be unpaid and then paid leave is required, calculated based on an amount not less than two-thirds of an employee's regular rate of pay and the number of hours the employee would otherwise be normally scheduled to work, not to exceed $200 per day and $10,000 in the aggregate. Certain exemptions and special rules apply, and a tax credit may be available.

Under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) (Division E of the Act), private employers with fewer than 500 employees, and public employers of any size, must provide 80 hours of paid sick time to full-time employees who are unable to work (or telework) for specified virus-related reasons. Part-time employees are entitled to sick time based on their average hours worked over a 2-week period. This amount is immediately available regardless of the employee's length of employment. The maximum amounts payable vary based on the reason for absence. Employees who are:

  1. Subject to a quarantine or isolation order,
  2. Advised by a health provider to self-quarantine, or
  3. Experiencing symptoms and seeking diagnosis, must be compensated at their regular rate, up to a maximum of $511 per day ($5,110 total).

Employees caring for an individual described in category (1), (2), or (3), caring for a son or daughter whose school is closed or child care provider is unavailable, or experiencing a "substantially similar condition" specified by the government must receive two-thirds of their regular rate, up to a maximum of $200 per day ($2,000 total). Employers cannot require employees to find a replacement worker or use other sick leave before this sick time. Employers may exclude health care providers and emergency responders, and the DOL can issue regulations exempting businesses with fewer than 50 employees. The sick leave mandate takes effect not later than 15 days after March 18, 2020 (the date of the Act's enactment) and expires December 31, 2020.

The employer will pay the amount up front, and then will be reimbursed for the full amount within three months in the form of a payroll tax credit. The reimbursement will also cover the employer’s contribution to health insurance premiums during the leave. (Should the amount employers pay workers who take leave be larger than what the employer owes in taxes, the government will send a check for the remainder).
SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF / SBA LOANS
The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering designated states and territories low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Upon a request received from a state’s or territory’s Governor, SBA will issue under its own authority, as provided by the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act that was recently signed by the President, an Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration.

  • Any such Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance declaration issued by the SBA makes loans available statewide to small businesses and private, non-profit organizations to help alleviate economic injury caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19). This will apply to current and future disaster assistance declarations related to Coronavirus.
  • SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance will coordinate with the state’s or territory’s Governor to submit the request for Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance.
  • Once a declaration is made, the information on the application process for Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance will be made available to affected small businesses within the state.
  • SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans offer up to $2 million in assistance and can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing.
  • These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses. The interest rate for non-profits is 2.75%.
  • SBA offers loans with long-term repayments in order to keep payments affordable, up to a maximum of 30 years. Terms are determined on a case-by-case basis, based upon each borrower’s ability to repay.
  • SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans are just one piece of the expanded focus of the federal government’s coordinated response, and the SBA is strongly committed to providing the most effective and customer-focused response possible.
  • For questions, please contact the SBA disaster assistance customer service center at 1-800-659-2955 (TTY: 1-800-877-8339) or e-mail disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
  • To begin your application, go to https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/Information/ApplyOnline