The knowledge you need

Originally established by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) was designed to provide needed capital to help restaurants and other hospitality businesses keep their doors open. As one of the hardest-hit industries by the combination of stay-at-home orders and forced business closures, the capital infusion was desperately needed. The RRF provided up to $10M per business was available and repayment was not required assuming monies were used to pay eligible expenses.

More than half of working Americans have reported feeling behind in meeting retirement saving goals. Concurrently, one-third do not have any retirement savings or account set up at all. To make matters worse, the economic challenges imposed by the COVID pandemic meant that retirement savings were needed to meet routine expenses. Although necessary, it has made retirement planning and savings challenges even more serious and complicated.

Each year the Administration issues a proposed budget to Congress which outlines policy objectives, funding allocation, and concurrent tax changes from the coming fiscal year. In late March, President Biden issued the Budget of the United States Government – Fiscal Year 2023. The specific details are included in a separate document, General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2023 Revenue Proposals, also known as the “Green Book”.

With median losses of $203,000, the construction industry ranks fourth among two dozen industries in the cost of damages arising from fraud. The nature of the work makes it an attractive target for bad actors. The confluence of long project lead times, multiple stakeholders, and participants, lots of moving parts, and different job sites all contribute to challenges in preventing and detecting fraud.

"At any time during 2021, did you receive, sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any financial interest in any virtual currency?" This new question appears on IRS Form 1040, and taxpayers are required to answer. More than half of new Bitcoin investors joined the platform within the last 12 months, so there are taxpayers who are completely new to the market, and its potential tax implications. Given the new disclosure requirement, it is essential for Atlanta investors to understand the federal tax treatment of cryptocurrency investments.

The historic backlog of unprocessed communications, income, employment, and other tax returns continues to plague the IRS.  In December, there were a reported 6 million unprocessed individual returns and over 2 million unprocessed amended returns. Since the start of the 2021 tax season, the problem has gotten worse with updated estimates showing the backlog growing to 24 million. At the same time, customer service has also hit historic lows. Only 11% of calls were answered last year leaving taxpayers frustrated and with very few options.

Nondiscrimination testing ensures equity amongst all participants by examining elective contribution rates, company contributions, and the percentage of plan assets that belong to highly compensated employees (HCEs). The test determines there is no discrimination that favors HCEs.

On March 16, 2022, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that all existing Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) borrowers will receive an extended deferment period. The EIDL program has undergone several stops and starts, amendments, and extensions since it was offered as an option during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since many Atlanta companies have relied on the program to address cash flow needs during and post-pandemic, it is important to know when payments are due and the specific details of the new deferment changes.

Managing a construction company has become an increasingly complex proposition. Not only are the traditional project management challenges still present, but several new complexities have arisen. Primarily the increase in the cost of materials and supply chain issues have made it more difficult to provide estimates and manage work schedules. Similarly, construction accounting is complicated and impacts cash flow, liabilities, and other important information.

Georgia taxpayers may be getting an extra refund soon if the state legislature’s latest proposal passes muster. Under H.B. 1302, taxpayers who filed returns in 2020 and 2021 would receive a one-time refund between $250 and $500.