Your McCarthy Update
Marty McCarthy, CPA, CCIFP
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Focused on You. Dedicated to Your Success.
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January 25, 2021
McCarthy Thought Leadership
(CE This Week) Contractors on Private Projects Also Need Bonding. Contractors working on public and government projects typically must be bonded. Although private projects generally do not require surety bonds, many owners are bonding their contractors and general contractors are bonding subcontractors. Learn why from Marty McCarthy, CPA, CCIFP.
Accounting & Tax News
(CNBC) Here are tax issues to consider if you tapped into your retirement account to weather 2020. Millions of Americans tapped 401(k) and IRA balances to access emergency cash amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as allowed under the federal CARES Act. Now, as tax time approaches, decisions must be made about those withdrawals. Learn more.
(Tax Foundation) To What Extent Does Your State Rely on Property Taxes? Property taxes represent a major source of revenue for states and the largest source of tax revenue for localities. Learn why.
Business News
(Philadelphia Business Journal) Philadelphia Fed President Harker on construction, digital currency, payroll taxes and more. In addition to providing an outlook on the economy, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker discussed various topics from construction to consumer behavior during a recent 2021 Economic Forecast event hosted by the Business Journal. Learn more.
(Real Estate NJ) Murphy signs $14 billion incentive package. Gov. Phil Murphy has signed into law a bill that would create a seven-year, $14 billion package of tax incentives for key businesses and development projects in the state. Learn more.
Construction & Real Estate News
(Bloomberg) U.S. Housing Starts Rose to Fastest Pace Since 2006 in December. U.S. home construction starts rose in December to the best pace since late 2006 as builders responded to the robust demand for single-family housing. Residential starts climbed by 5.8% to a 1.67 million annualized rate. Discover why.
(Construction Dive) How much federal funding will each state DOT receive? State departments of transportation are set to receive funds totaling $9.8 billion from the COVID-19 emergency relief measure. Learn how much each state is expected to receive.
(GlobalSt.com) Construction Starts Fall to Lowest Level in Five Years. Construction spending ended an almost decade-long expansion in the spring of 2020, and experts predict nonresidential construction will remain in recession well into 2021. Total construction starts fell 10% to $766.3 billion in 2020, according to data released by Dodge Data & Analytics, with nonresidential building starts declining most steeply and posting a 24% loss to $239.9 billion, the lowest level since 2015. Learn more.
(GlobalSt.com) Skyrocketing Lumber Prices Deal a Blow to Builder Confidence. Rapidly rising lumber prices are constricting the development of single-family homes, with builder confidence hitting a low of 83 in January. Read more.
(GlobeSt.com) East coast housing remains particularly vulnerable as pandemic wears on.
Housing markets in the Northeast and other parts of the East Coast remain most economically impacted by and at risk of further depression as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on, according to a new report by ATTOM Data Solutions. Learn more.
(GlobeST.com) Industrial, Apartments Drive December Price Gains. US commercial property prices grew 7.3% year-over-year in December, according to the latest RCA CPPI: US summary report. The industrial sector, which posted the largest annual increase of any property type, grew 0.6% in December, and rose 8.8% year-over-year. The pace of growth in the sector declined modestly from previous months. Prices increased 0.9% for apartments in December, while annual gains hit 8.3%. Read more.
COVID-19 Related News
(Accounting Today) Biden to extend student-loan payment freeze until September. President Joe Biden plans to extend a freeze on federal student-loan repayments until at least the end of September, keeping in place a pandemic measure that has reduced costs for tens of millions of borrowers. Learn more.
(Accounting Today) Intuit adds more help for small biz and self-employed applying for PPP. Intuit has updated Intuit Aid Assist, a free website with interactive tools to help small business owners and the self-employed assess their eligibility for federal relief and related tax credits from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. Learn more.
(Accounting Today) IRS issues guidance on repayment of deferred payroll taxes. The Internal Revenue Service released information on how employees now have until the end of the year to repay any payroll taxes they deferred from last year. Read more.
(AccountingWEB) Roadmap to Reduce Pandemic-Related Tax Fraud Risks. Working remotely can bring some serious challenges around data security that do not stop with your network. This whitepaper highlights key areas where you and your staff might be exposed, and provides a checklist of remedial actions you can take to make sure disaster doesn't strike this April. Download the whitepaper.
(Forbes) President Biden signed 17 executive orders on his first day in office. Four of the executive orders are related to COVID-19. Biden issued a mask and social distancing mandate on all federal lands for federal employees and contractors, rejoined the World Health Organization (WHO), and designated a COVID-19 coordinator. The Biden administration extended eviction and foreclosure moratoriums until March 31 and will continue to suspend student loan repayments until September. Read more.
(Journal of Accountancy) 6 tips for CPAs on newest round of PPP funding. Business leaders and the CPAs who serve them will need to use a variety of strategies all at once as they pursue economic support in the newest round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding. Learn more.
(Journal of Accountancy) Some individual taxpayers get relief from underpayment penalty. Certain individuals will not be subject to the penalty on the underpayment of estimated income taxes if the underpayment is solely attributable to the recent repeal of the excess business loss limitations. Read more.
(Kiplinger) Do stimulus checks increase the tax on social security benefits? The answer to this question comes down to whether a stimulus check increases "provisional income." Learn more.
(New Jersey Business) Survey: Most NJ businesses need help in coming months. Businesses say they will need financial and technical support in months to come, reports the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. Learn why.
(Philadelphia Business Journal) Philadelphia launches $12M grant program for restaurants and gyms impacted by COVID-19. A new $12 million grant program designed to bring COVID-19 relief to Philadelphia restaurants and gyms that have been particularly hard-hit by pandemic restrictions is launching later this month. Learn more.
Philadelphia Business Journal) Two PPP loans in the same round? Experts say it is possible. Small businesses that never got a Paycheck Protection Program over the summer might be able to get two PPP loans in a row this time around — if they act fast, experts say. Learn how.
Feel free to contact any member of our team at (610) 828-1900 (PA) or (732) 341-3893 (NJ) with questions. Rich Higgins, CPA, managing principal – New Jersey office can be contacted at Richard.Higgins@MCC-CPAs.com. I can be reached at Marty.McCarthy@MCC-CPAs.com. As always, we are happy to help.
Stay safe,
Marty McCarthy, CPA, CCIFP
Managing Partner
McCarthy & Company
Disclaimer: This alert is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Information contained in this communication is not intended or written to be used as tax advice, and cannot be used by the recipient to avoid penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code. We strongly advise you to seek professional assistance with respect to your specific issue(s).
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