Pandemic Business Benefits

Business Benefits Update: September 2020

Available Business Benefits 

It's mid September and the Federal Unemployment benefits have expired. To provide relief, new Executive orders were signed by President Trump during the month of August to bridge the gap as Congress is unwilling to negotiate and unable to decide what to do next. Here are a quick summary: 

Payroll Taxes

The executive order defers payroll taxes from July through December. This is expected to provide an additional 7.45% in paychecks and a 7.45% deferral of employer payments. The deferral only applies to those with pre-tax income of $4,000 bi-weekly. This deferral is not “forgiveness” and employers and employees need to plan to make the payment at a later, unspecified date. 

Federal Unemployment Benefits

The executive order makes an additional $25 billion available for extending Federal unemployment benefits through December 6, 2020 or until the funds run out.  The amount is limited to $400 per week of which $100 must be funded by states. To add to the uncertainty, a legitimate yet unresolved question is how much of these Executive orders is within the power of the Executive branch and will they be challenged by Congress who is responsible for the federal budget and spending. Follow the link for more information on these and other recent U.S. Presidential Actions and Executive orders. 

California Covid-19 Rules and Benefits

If you own a business in California, visit the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (Go-Biz) website for up to date information on CoronaVirus rules, regulations and relief.