Small Business Tax Changes from the $2 Trillion Stimulus Bill

On Friday, March 27, 2020, the House of Representatives passed a historic $2 trillion relief bill to help individuals and businesses navigate the economic burden brought by the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The bill, titled the CARES Act, moved to the House after passing in the Senate. Now that it’s passed through Congress, the bill will move to President Trump, who is expected to sign it into law. 

The CARES Act includes a suite of provisions to ease the financial burden for small businesses. Among them, small businesses will find a few key changes to their taxes. Here’s what small businesses need to know about how the $2 trillion dollar relief bill could change their taxes. 

The CARES Act: 3 Tax Changes for Small Businesses

No small business owner has the time to pour over long, complicated legal jargon right now (did they ever?), so we did it for you. Here are the 3 tax changes in the CARES Act that every small business should be aware of. 

1. The Payroll Tax Credit

To incentivize businesses to retain workers, the CARES Act offers a 50% refundable payroll tax credit for businesses. 

2. Social Security

The bill implements a delay in employer-side payroll taxes for Social Security until 2021 or 2022, easing the immediate economic burden of payroll for small business owners. 

3. More Deductions

The bill loosens restrictions for net-operating losses for businesses, allowing small businesses to offset more in deductions. 

These changes are based on the CARES Act as it was passed by Congress. Before it becomes law, the bill still needs to be signed by the president. 

Other Coronavirus Tax Changes

The federal tax filing deadline for 2019 has already been extended until July 15, 2020, for individuals and businesses. The payment deadline has also been extended for individuals and businesses that owe less than $10 million in taxes. 

The quarterly filing deadline has also been extended until July 15, 2020, meaning small businesses and self-employed individuals have an additional 3 months to make an estimated tax payment for the first quarter of 2020. 

The information provided in this post does not, and is not intended to, constitute tax advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available in this post are for general informational purposes only. Readers of this post should contact their tax professional to obtain advice with respect to any particular tax matter.