The American Rescue Plan of 2021,
the $1.9 trillion stimulus legislation recently passed by Congress, expands
support for small business through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), new
grant programs for restaurants and employer tax credits.
The IRS webpage says the agency is reviewing implementation
plans for the newly enacted legislation
and additional information about a new round of Economic Impact Payments, the expanded
Child Tax Credit, including advance payments of the Child Tax Credit, and other
tax provisions will be made available as soon as possible on IRS.gov.
Some highlights of the
legislation gathered from various sources:
PPP receives $7.25 billion and allows
bigger PPP Loans for Sole Proprietors. PPP application process will still close
March 31, 2021.
Employee Retention Tax Credit
(ERTC) extended through 12/31/2021: Tax credits for up to $33,000 for employee
wages paid since March 12, 2020.
$25 Billion Restaurant
Revitalization Fund: New grants for restaurants and bars up to $5 million per
location. This program will be administered through the SBA and details are not
yet available.
$15 billion addition to SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program
Individuals receive an additional $1,400 direct payment, topping
off the $600 passed as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021
(CCA21) in December 2020, for a combined $2,000 per individual.
Unemployment Programs
The Pandemic Unemployment
Assistance (PUA) program, for workers not traditionally eligible for
unemployment insurance (such as independent contractors and gig workers), was
set to expire on March 14, 2021. It has now been extended through September 6,
2021, and the number of eligibility weeks have been increased from 50 weeks to
79 weeks.
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)
provides additional weeks of unemployment insurance benefits to individuals who
have exhausted their state unemployment benefits. PEUC was also set to expire
on March 14, 2021, but the program has been extended through September 6, 2021.
Eligibility weeks have been increased from 24 weeks to 53 weeks.
The Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC)
program supplement of $300 per week, which was also set to expire on March 14,
2021, will be extended through September 6, 2021.
Employer
Tax Credits
Tax
credits offset costs for employers that voluntarily provide Families First
Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) emergency paid sick leave or expanded family
and medical leave to employees. The tax credits are available from April 1,
2021, through September 30, 2021.
State
and Local Aid
American
Rescue Plan includes $350 billion in flexible aid for state and local
governments, $20 billion for tribal governments, and $20 billion to support
public transit. Virginia will receive $9 billion.
Pandemic-Related
Medical Aid
$160
billion for vaccine distribution, an expansion of testing, and support to
reduce critical supply shortages. 100 percent coverage for the administration
of vaccines. Subsidizes continued health coverage (COBRA) for those who lose
their employer-sponsored health insurance through September 30, 2021. It increases
the value of the Premium Tax Credit used on individual health insurance
exchanges to ensure individuals pay no more than 8.5 percent of income for
health insurance coverage.
Education
Relief
$170
billion to support school reopening and funding for post-secondary education
and $25 billion in support of childcare providers.
Rental
Assistance
Renters
and small landlords would receive $30 billion of support. The eviction and
foreclosure moratorium and continued forbearance for federally guaranteed
mortgages would be extended through September 30, 2021.
Expanded
Paid Sick and Family Leave
Paid
sick and family medical leave is now available through September 30, 2021, for
workers who need to quarantine, provide care to family members with COVID-19,
or take care of children when daycare or schools are closed. Expanded leave
would include a maximum paid leave benefit of $1,400 per week for eligible
workers, up to a full wage replacement of up to $73,000 annually.
Nutrition
Assistance
The
15 percent benefit increase for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) provided in December for the first six months of 2021 would be extended
through September 2021 to reduce food insecurity through the year.
