Lynam & Associates

Lynam & Associates provides a range of services for new and established U.S. and international businesses, not-for-profit corporations, and entrepreneurs.

Our legal services are comprehensive, but our emphasis is not on who we are, but on what we can do for clients. We practice law to serve our clients, to solve their problems, to protect and defend their assets, and to make their lives and businesses more secure.

Website: http://www.lynamlaw.com/
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Lynam & Associates Blogs

The Illinois Business & Tax Law Blog

Blog Authors

David Lynam

Latest from Lynam & Associates

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Last year, the CARES Act granted businesses and nonprofits a payroll tax credit, but due to its several restrictions most clients were unable to qualify. The newly passed Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, drops many of the restrictions. In so doing, the new law frees up potentially millions in credits for qualified employers due to the expanded Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC), now applicable through the first two quarters of 2021. The major changes are:

  • increase the credit percentage from 50% to 70% of qualified wages.
  • increase the creditable

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Continue Reading Huge New Stimulus Credits in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 Available to Employers Impacted by the Pandemic

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The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) now allows certain eligible borrowers that previously received a PPP loan to apply for a Second Draw PPP Loan with the same general loan terms as their First Draw PPP Loan. Second Draw PPP Loans can be used to help fund payroll costs, including benefits. Funds can also be used to pay for mortgage interest, rent, utilities, worker protection costs related to COVID-19, uninsured property damage costs caused by looting or vandalism during 2020, and certain supplier costs and expenses for operations. 

Full Forgiveness Terms

Second Draw PPP Loans made to eligible borrowers qualify for…
Continue Reading Paycheck Protection Program Second Draw Loans

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After months of negotiations, Congress finally passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act late in the evening last night, and the new legislation includes a little something for everyone. Here are some of the highlights relating to the Payroll Protection Program (PPP):

  • The bill provides that gross income does not include any amount that would otherwise arise from the forgiveness of a PPP loan. Also clarified is that deductions are allowed for otherwise deductible expenses paid with the proceeds of a PPP loan that is forgiven, and that the tax basis and other attributes of the borrower’s assets will not be reduced as a result

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Continue Reading PPP Highlights of the New Covid Relief Legislation

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The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) that was passed in March required specified employers to provide emergency paid sick leave, as well as emergency paid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), to employees. FFCRA leave ends this month, but tax credits continue for leave voluntarily extended to employees.

Highlights include:

  • Mandated FFCRA Leave ends on December 31, 2020.
  • As of January 1, 2021, covered employers may voluntarily provide emergency paid sick leave or emergency paid FMLA Leave under FFCRA (as adopted earlier this year) and take the tax credit associated with this leave.
  • The tax credit may only be taken

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Continue Reading Employers: Changes Coming to Mandatory FFCRA Leave Requirements

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The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) provided a lifeline for thousands of small businesses across the nation, helping struggling owners pay employees to remain in business during the pandemic. Once borrowers provided lenders and the Small Business Association (SBA) with verification that the proceeds were used appropriately, the loans would be forgiven. Small businesses hope for a second round of stimulus in the coming months to help offset the second COVID waive.Businesses that received loans this year are either beginning to apply for loan forgiveness, or are planning to do so, but confusion remains about the timing of the application process, as well as the tax…
Continue Reading Understanding the Current PPP Landscape

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Last year Illinois enacted the Workplace Transparency Act (WTA), which requires employers provide sexual harassment training to employees. In Illinois, it is a civil rights violation for any employer to engage in sexual harassment, and due to the Illinois General Assembly’s finding that tolerance of sexual harassment has a detrimental influence on the workplace environment, employers are encouraged to adopt and actively implement policies to ensure their workplaces are safe for employees to report concerns about sexual harassment without fear of retaliation, loss of status, or loss of promotional opportunities.

For All Employers:

Training must occur at least once per year, and failure…
Continue Reading Illinois Employers Must Conduct Sexual Harassment Training by 12/31/20

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The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), provides loans and loan forgiveness based on borrower’s certifications and documentation provided by the borrower. The SBA has announced that it will begin auditing these applications once the filing of the forgiveness request is made. Due to the many and ongoing changes in guidance and rules, we recommend early filing for forgiveness, as the rules then in effect will govern the application. For example, the SBA just issued a procedural notice to those businesses/not for profits who are thinking of selling or merging their businesses, who will now need to notify their PPP lender of the contemplated transaction and provide…
Continue Reading You have spent your PPP funds, now what?

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A Presidential directive was issued on Saturday, August 8, 2020, deferring collection of certain U.S. payroll taxes normally withheld from employees’ paychecks from September 1 through the end of the year.

The IRS issued guidance on August 28, 2020, attempting to implement the directive, allowing employers to defer withholding the employee portion of certain payroll taxes (where pretax wages or compensation during any biweekly pay period is less than $4,000) during the last four months of 2020. But this is no free lunch, as the withholding and payment of these taxes is only postponed until the period beginning Jan. 1,…
Continue Reading How employers can respond to the Presidential order on payroll taxes

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After acting decisively to support the economy in March, Congress has failed to agree on a subsequent round of spending. Key economic supports, like the $600 supplement to unemployment insurance payouts and a moratorium on evictions, were allowed to expire at the end of July. Presidential executive orders to continue certain protections are not likely to be very effective, resulting in a need for a more comprehensive legislative response. Should that be forthcoming, the Continuing Small Business Recovery and Payroll Protection Plan Protection Act recently introduced in Congress has wide support.
The Act is intended to correct problems with the…
Continue Reading Major Changes Are Coming to Double Your PPP Loan, and Automatic Forgiveness

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Senators on Friday urged the Treasury Department and Small Business Administration (SBA) to simplify the process for businesses to receive loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). “In this public health and economic emergency, we must do all we can to make sure our small businesses have the support and assistance they need to weather the crisis,” they said in a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza.

Under the PPP, which was created by coronavirus relief legislation signed in late March, businesses and non profits can get loans that are forgivable if they maintain their payrolls. Treasury and the SBA released an 11 page form last month for…
Continue Reading Senators Agree PPP Forgiveness Application Requires Legal, Accounting Help to Complete, Ask SBA for Simplification

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More than $130 billion in Payroll Protection Program funding is still available for small businesses, independent contractors, and nonprofits, but the opportunity is about to end. While the time to spend PPP money was just extended, the last day a PPP request (and essentially free money) can be made is only weeks away – June 30th, 2020.

More requirements were just released over the weekend on how the program works once you have the funds to spend. The most important of these are that at least 60% of the PPP funds must be spent on compensation costs, and the employee head count requirement (should you have employees)…
Continue Reading Don’t Leave Money on the Table: $130 Billion in Payroll Protection Program Cash is Still Available from the SBA

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Amendments to the SBA Payroll Protection Program became law on Friday, June 5th, which extend the time to spend PPP money from eight (8) weeks to twenty-four (24) weeks. However, relying on this new 24 week time has disadvantages, due to penalties from pay reductions or lower headcounts during the extended 16 weeks time. If you already have a PPP loan, you do have the option of retaining the original eight (8) week time period. If your 8 weeks is nearly up, it is time to start preparing the eleven-page SBA Loan Forgiveness Application, unless you wish to see your…
Continue Reading New PPP Changes Bring Further Pitfalls Along With New Flexibility

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Congress just passed changes to the PPP program, now headed for presidential approval:

  • Extends the eight-week spending period of PPP funds for an additional 16 weeks
  • Increases the repayment time for unforgiven funds to five years for most applicants
  • Changes the forgiveness requirement maximum for non-payroll expenses from 25% to 40%, with a severe penalty if the 40% is exceeded
  • Permits full forgiveness where the employer shows it is unable to reinstate or replace furloughed or former employees, under specified circumstances
  • Extends FICA Tax deferment to PPP borrowers

A number of points remain subject to SBA interpretation/guidance, which we expect soon after the bill becomes law.

The PPP program has grown…
Continue Reading Congress Extends PPP Spend Period

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On May 19, 2020, the Department of Labor issued revised interim enforcement guidance by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) concerning its recordkeeping requirement related to recording cases of COVID-19 for non exempt workplaces. Under previous interim enforcement guidance published on April 10, OSHA had temporarily exempted most employers from determining whether a recorded case was “work-related,” defined as an event or exposure in the work environment either causing or contributing to the resulting condition, or significantly aggravating a pre-existing injury or illness. Pursuant to the May 19 revised guidance, however, OSHA has effectively removed this temporary exemption, meaning…
Continue Reading COVID-19: OSHA Updates Record-keeping Requirements

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Yesterday, the SBA and Treasury Department released the application for business owners in order to have their PPP loan forgiven. The form and instructions include several measures to reduce compliance burdens and simplify the process for borrowers, including:

  • Options for borrowers to calculate payroll costs using an “alternative payroll covered period” that aligns with borrowers’ regular payroll cycles
  • Flexibility to include eligible payroll and non-payroll expenses paid or incurred during the eight-week period after receiving their PPP loan
  • Step-by-step instructions on how to perform the calculations required by the CARES Act to confirm eligibility for loan forgiveness
  • Borrower-friendly implementation

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Continue Reading Convert Your Payroll Protection Loan into Free Grant Money with this New SBA Form

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In these uncertain and stressful times, it is important to have a contingency plan in place should you or a loved one become ill. We suggest thinking about the following items:

  • A review of your estate planning documents, as some documents may require modification. For example, you probably don’t want your living will to prohibit intubation, a common treatment for the virus. Likewise, some Power of Attorneys contain “springing powers,” which are contingent on the principal being certified as disabled by a doctor. Such a certification may not be practical at the moment as doctors continue to focus on treating virus

    • …
    Continue Reading Are You Prepared for A Family Member Contracting COVID-19?