The U.S. Small Business Administration has released the first round of technology partners participating in a new initiative for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) – a program that will allow eligible restaurants and other food establishments to access the RRF application or data they need to fill out the application through their trusted point-of-sale (POS) service providers.

SBA is proud to announce partnerships with Clover ®, NCR Corporation, Square, and Toast in this groundbreaking effort to provide a customer-centric approach to the delivery of relief funds.

“The SBA is partnering with point-of-sale providers to leverage technology to better reach the smallest businesses that need our help the most.… Read More

The IRS and the Treasury Department on April 22 released guidance that provides a safe harbor for businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans in the first round of relief but did not deduct otherwise eligible business expenses because they relied on now-superseded guidance.

Under prior guidance, businesses that received PPP loans in 2020 to cover payroll costs, interest on covered mortgage obligations, and covered utility payments could not deduct the corresponding expenses.

The new guidance – Rev. Proc. 2021-20 – provides a safe harbor in line with a provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, signed Dec. 27, 2020.… Read More

The U.S. Small Business Administration has completed rigorous testing and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant application portal will reopen on Saturday, April 24.

Interested applicants should register for an account in advance through the portal.

PROGRAM DETAILS

The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program was established by the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act, and amended by the American Rescue Plan Act. The program includes over $16 billion in grants to shuttered venues, to be administered by SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance.

Eligible applicants may qualify for grants equal to 45% of their gross earned revenue, with the maximum amount available for a single grant award of $10 million.… Read More

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department announced today further details of tax credits available under the American Rescue Plan to help small businesses, including providing paid leave for employees receiving COVID-19 vaccinations.

The additional details, provided in a fact sheet released today, spell out some basic facts about the employers eligible for the tax credits. It also provides information on how these employers may claim the credit for leave paid to employees related to COVID-19 vaccinations.

Eligible employers, such as businesses and tax-exempt organizations with fewer than 500 employees and certain governmental employers, can receive a tax credit for providing paid time off for each employee receiving the vaccine and for any time needed to recover from the vaccine.… Read More

Covid-19 has hit my restaurant hard. What do I need to know about the Restaurant Revitalization Fund?

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 created the Restaurant Revitalization Fund – a $28.6 billion grant program to relieve restaurants from the losses they experienced due to the Covid-19 pandemic. If you’re a restaurant owner looking for financial support to keep your business running, you’ve come to the right place. Fortunately, this grant program is exclusive to members of the restaurant industry, has funds set aside for the hardest-hit businesses, and is simpler than the Paycheck Protection Program.

This article answers all your questions about the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) program, including:

• Am I eligible for an RRF grant?

SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman today announced key details on application requirements, eligibility, and a program guide for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). The restaurant industry has been among the hardest-hit sectors during the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To help bring jobs back and revive the industry, the American Rescue Plan, signed into law by President Joe Biden, established the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA will administer the funds to the hardest-hit small restaurants.

“Today, we are starting the process to help restaurants and bars across the country devastated by the pandemic, and this is our message: Help is here.… Read More

It is important to understand how applying for SBA relief programs may affect your eligibility for other programs.

• You can receive an Economic Injury Disaster Loan and a Paycheck Protection Program loan. You cannot use the loan proceeds for the same purposes.
• You can receive an Economic Injury Disaster Loan and a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant but they cannot be used for the same purposes.
• If you receive a Paycheck Protection Program loan after December 27, 2020, the amount of your PPP loan will be deducted from your Shuttered Venue Operators Grant award amount.
• You cannot receive a Paycheck Protection Program loan after receiving a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant.

The Targeted EIDL Advance provides advance funds of up to $10,000 to applicants in low-income communities who previously received an EIDL Advance for less than $10,000, or those who applied but received no funds due to lack of available program funding.

I received an email invitation inviting me to apply to the Targeted EIDL Advance program. Does this mean I qualify?

Not necessarily. The SBA is contacting those who received a previous EIDL Advance in an amount less than $10,000 and those who applied for EIDL assistance on or before December 27, 2020, but did not receive an EIDL Advance due to lack of program funding.… Read More

Beginning the week of April 6, the SBA started offering a maximum loan amount of $500,000 through its COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. This is a significant increase from the previously available maximum loan amount of $150,000, an amount put into place due to the demand on the program at the height of the pandemic.

In March, the SBA announced that new applicants for the EIDL program would automatically be considered for the new amount. The changes also include modifications to the calculated six-month economic injury, prolonging it to 24 months. The EIDL program typically allows up to $2 million in loans, with loans being capped at $150,000 to help with the pandemic before this latest announcement.… Read More

The AICPA on Thursday released some suggestions for practitioners regarding issues that have arisen around the postponed May 17 tax due date for individuals.

The postponement, announced by the IRS in March (see Notice 2021-21), applies to any individual who files a federal individual income tax return on Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR, 1040-PR, 1040-SS, or 1040(SP) (the Form 1040 series) or has a federal tax payment reported on one of these forms that would otherwise be due April 15, 2021. The notice also moved the deadline to May 17 for claims for credit or refund of federal income tax that absent the notice would expire on or after April 15, 2021, and before May 17, 2021.… Read More