Many businesses have struggled financially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some businesses have benefited from the PPP and SBA EIDL programs. We expect most businesses to receive loan forgiveness for their PPP loan, but if you received an EIDL loan, you might be concerned on how you are going to pay it back. Generally, if a business had to receive a loan during 2020, it means they incurred more expenses than revenue, and thus needed a loan. This should mean the company or business will have a loss for the 2020 tax year. If you expect your business to have a loss, then there may be an opportunity to take that business loss and turn it into cash. The CARES Act changed the tax laws related to net operating loss (NOLs) options, in which the CARES Act allows NOLs to be carried back up to five (5) years if the loss was incurred in tax years 2018, 2019 and/or 2020. If you incurred a NOL then you might be able to carry it back up to 5 years and receive a cash refund based on taxes paid in those years. If you incurred a loss, and generated a NOL, speak with your tax advisor before the end of the year to determine if you can benefit from the NOL carry back.

Contact Vertical Advisors, LLP if we can be of assistance.