Congress has, at last, passed a second stimulus bill. It is awaiting President Trump’s signature, which is expected today. The bill clarifies that you can claim normal tax deductions for business expenses paid with PPP money, reversing the IRS decision. This will provide much-needed tax relief and aligns with the original intention of the PPP.

The new stimulus bill also expands the simplified one-page loan forgiveness process on loans up to $150,000, a significant increase from the $50,000 limit previously approved. Finally, the bill includes a second round of PPP loans for small businesses that can show a material impact on their business. The SBA will further clarify the guidelines and process for the round two loans but the “material impact” validation is expected to be a 25% or greater loss in revenue in any quarter in 2020 compared to that same quarter in 2019. The loan amount will be based on 2.5 months of payroll again and recipients will have a 24-week period to use the funds.