New York City – Financial Assistance for Businesses Impacted by COVID-19

Date March 30, 2020

Article Authors

HBK CPAs & Consultants

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the City will provide relief for small businesses across the City seeing a reduction in revenue because of COVID-19. New York City has two financial assistance programs. They are:

NYC Employee Retention Grant Program
New York City is offering small businesses with fewer than 5 employees a grant to cover 40% of payroll costs for two months to help retain employees. To be eligible businesses, including non-profits, must:

Be located within the five boroughs of New York City
Demonstrate that the COVID-19 outbreak caused at least a 25% decrease in revenue
Employ 1-4 employees in total across all locations
Have been in operation for at least 6 months
Have no outstanding tax liens or legal judgments

NYC Small Business Continuity Loan Fund
New York City is offering businesses with fewer than 100 employees who have seen sales decreases of 25% or more will be eligible to apply for zero-interest loans of up to $75,000 to help ensure business continuity. To be eligible businesses must:

Be located within the five boroughs of New York City
Demonstrate that the COVID-19 outbreak caused at least a 25% decrease in revenue
Employ 99 employees or fewer in total across all locations
Demonstrate the ability to repay the loan
Have no outstanding tax liens or legal judgments

Please see the NYC.gov website for more information on how to apply for the grant or loan:

HBK will continue to follow developments and provide guidance and clarity surrounding COVID-19 business issues. To discuss COVID-19’s effect on your business, contact your HBK advisor.

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Does My State Have a Filing Extension?

Date March 25, 2020

Article Authors

HBK CPAs & Consultants

The federal government has extended, until July 15, 2020, the tax filing and payments deadline for all taxpayers who had an April 15, 2020 deadline. Many states have come forward and announced extension plans of their own, with some states mirroring the extension provided by the federal government and other states implementing their own extension of time to file and pay. Each state, and locality, has adopted its own provisions and as this is a developing story, we are expecting more states and localities to release guidance. Below are several states that impact HBK clients and the information that those states have released so far.

This information was last updated on March 25, 2020.

State	Extension Date	Information
California	July 15, 2020 California has pushed its tax filing and payment deadline to July 15, waive interest and late filing and late payment penalties. FTB is extending the relief to all California taxpayers. Taxpayers do not need to claim any special treatment or call FTB to qualify for this relief.	The Franchise Tax Board is postponing until July 15 the filing and payment deadlines for all individuals and business entities for: 2019 tax returns 2019 tax return payments 2020 1st and 2nd quarter estimate payments 2nd quarter estimate payments 2020 LLC taxes and fees 2020 Non-wage withholding payments
Florida	July 1, 2020 for Annual Report Filings	Florida has extended for any profit corporation, limited liability company, limited partnership or limited liability limited partnership the annual report filing until July 1, 2020. Property tax payments due March 31 will be extended to April 15, 2020. This applies to all individuals and business owners in all Florida counties. Sales, use and other taxes collected February or March 2020 reporting periods will have a waiver of penalties and accrual of interest. Tangible Personal Property Tax Returns for many counties have been extended. Please reach out to your HBK Advisor to see how these extensions may impact you.
New Jersey	July 15, 2020	In a press release on April 1, 2020 the state has agreed to extend income tax filings and corporate business tax filings from April 15 to July 15, 2020. Guidance from the Department of Taxation is expected to file. The payment deadline is expected to be extended as well.
New York	July 15, 2020	Through Executive Order Number 202.12 the deadline in New York for certain tax filing and payment deadlines has been extended to July 15, 2020. This applies to individual returns, fiduciary returns and corporate tax returns originally due on April 15, 2020. No extension is provided in this notice for the payment or deposit of any other type of state tax, or for the filing of any state information return. Taxpayers do not need to file any additional forms or call the Tax Department to request or apply for this relief. The returns due on April 15, 2020, will automatically be granted the filing and payment deadline extension and relief from penalties and interest. Taxpayers who are due a refund are urged to file as soon as possible. • 2019 returns due on April 15, 2020, and related payments of tax or installments of tax, including installments of estimated taxes for the 2020 tax year, will not be subject to any failure to file, failure to pay, late payment, or underpayment penalties, or interest if filed and paid by July 15, 2020. • If you are unable to file your 2019 return by July 15, 2020, you can request an automatic extension to file your return. Your return will be due on October 15, 2020,1 if the extension request is filed by July 15, 2020, and you properly estimate and pay your 2019 tax liability with your extension request. • Interest, penalties, and additions to tax with respect to such extended tax filings and payments will begin to accrue on July 16, 2020. • If you already have filed your 2019 return and scheduled your direct debit payment, your direct debit payment will not be automatically rescheduled to occur on July 15, 2020. You must cancel and schedule a new direct debit payment.
	New York City	New York City has issued a waiver of penalties on business and excise tax due between due between March 16, 2020, and April 25, 2020. Taxpayers may request to have the penalties waived on a late-filed extension or return, or in a separate request. There is no waiver of interest.
Ohio	July 15, 2020 for state income tax returns	Ohio will be waiving penalty on tax due payments made during the extension. The filing extension, and waiver of penalty and interest, will be available for: individual income tax, school district income tax, pass-through entity tax, and for those taxpayers who have opted in to have the commissioner administer the municipal net profit tax through the state’s centralized filing system. Individuals, estates, trusts and certain businesses making quarterly estimated income tax payments, have also been granted additional time to file and pay without penalty or interest. The first and second quarterly payments, normally scheduled for April 15 and June 15 for most taxpayers, have both been extended to July 15. Many cities and municipalities have also extended the due date of their income tax returns, please contact your HBK advisor to learn how this impacts you.
Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania Extends Personal Income Tax Return Filing Deadline to July 15, 2020 Partnerships, Estates and Trusts are due August 14 S-Corps in Pennsylvania are due August 14 Corporations are due 30 days after the federal return, the Federal return is currently due July 15, so in PA Corporate returns are due August 15	Extension of Filing Deadline Applies to Trusts/Estates, Partnerships and S Corporations Due Date for Certain Corporation Returns Also Being Moved Governor Tom Wolf recently signed into law Act 10 of 2020, which extends the due date of certain personal income tax returns and payments, as well as waiving certain other income tax dates. The Department of Revenue also announced today it is extending the due date for corporations with tax returns due in May to August 14, 2020. The Department of Revenue will also waive penalties and interest on 2019 personal income tax payments through the new deadline of July 15, 2020. This extension applies to both final 2019 tax returns and payments, and estimated payments for the first and second quarters of 2020. The deadline for taxpayers who make quarterly estimated personal income tax payments is also extended to July 15, 2020. That means estimated payments for the first and second quarters of 2020 will be due by July 15, 2020. Many localities have also extended, please contact your HBK advisor to see if any of the local extensions apply to you.
	Philadelphia	Philadelphia the BIRT and NPT have been extended to July 15, 2020 and real estate taxes are extended to April 30, 2020.

For more information on states that are not included in this chart please consult the state extension information put out by the American Society of CPA’s which can be found here https://www.aicpa.org/content/dam/aicpa/advocacy/tax/downloadabledocuments/coronavirus-state-filing-relief.pdf

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Resources for Mid-Atlantic Employees and Employers Affected by COVID-19

Date March 22, 2020

Article Authors

HBK CPAs & Consultants

Employers and employees of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York who are affected by the COVID-19 virus have the following resources available:

Pennsylvania –
If you are employed in Pennsylvania and are unable to work because of COVID-19, you may be eligible for Unemployment or Workers’ Compensation benefits. Previously, claimants were not eligible for benefits during their first week of unemployment (the “waiting week.”) This has been suspended; eligible claimants may receive benefits for the first week that they are unemployed.

Click the link below for additional information:
https://www.uc.pa.gov/Pages/covid19.aspx

If you believe you may have been exposed to COVID-19 in your workplace, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation (WC).
https://www.uc.pa.gov/COVID-19/Pages/WC-COVID-FAQs.aspx

New York –
The 7-Day waiting period is being waived for Unemployment Insurance benefits for people who are out of work due to COVID-19 closures or quarantines.

Click the link below for additional information:
https://labor.ny.gov/unemploymentassistance.shtm

New York offers both workers compensation and disability insurance. Currently, the website does not offer much guidance regarding the COVID-19.

Click the link below for additional information:
http://www.wcb.ny.gov/content/main/Workers/Workers.jsp

The state of New York will allow some homeowners to skip their mortgage payments for three months in response to the spread of COVID-19.On Thursday, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) sent a letter to mortgage servicers directing them to provide several relief options in response to the outbreak, including suspending mortgage payments for up to 90 days.

Click the link below for additional information:
https://www.dfs.ny.gov/industry_guidance/industry_letters/il20200319_coronavirus_mortgage_relief

New Jersey –
A person who is out of work because their employer voluntarily closed because of the COVID-19 could be eligible for unemployment insurance.

Click the link below for additional information:
https://myunemployment.nj.gov/

New Jersey has among the most comprehensive Earned Sick Leave, Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance laws in the country, which cover all employees – full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal.

Click the link below for additional information:
https://www.nj.gov/labor/worker-protections/earnedsick/covid.shtml

Small Business Association (SBA) – SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans offer up to $2 million in assistance for small businesses and non-profits. These loans can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help pay for fixed debts, payroll and other bills that cannot be paid because of the COVID-19 impact. Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York are among the states that have been approved.

Click the links below for additional information:
https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/sba-newsroom/press-releases-media-advisories/sba-provide-disaster-assistance-loans-small-businesses-impacted-coronavirus-covid-19
https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance

Conclusion:
We will continue to follow developments and provide guidance and clarity surrounding COVID-19 business issues. We are only beginning to understand how to navigate these unprecedented times. For business questions related to or to discuss COVID-19’s effect on your business, contact your HBK advisor.

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