Late in the evening on Monday, December 21, 2020, the House and Senate passed a massive 5,593 page COVID-19 Relief and Government spending Bill. The President is expected to sign it into law today. The bill is a combination giant year-end government spending bill and a COVID-19 relief package combining $900 billion in COVID-19 relief aid with $1.4 trillion in regular government funding and a bevy of tax breaks for businesses. This pandemic relief bill is the second largest bill in history, only to be surpassed by the virus relief package signed into law just nine months ago.
The following is a brief summary of some of the major provisions of the new pandemic relief bill. A more detailed summary can be found here.
- The legislation would provide direct payments of $600 to most Americans and their children. This would be for those individuals making up to $75,000 and $1,200 for married couples earning up to $150,000 as well as $600 per child. There will be a phase out for those individuals and families earning more than those amounts. The payments will go out as soon as next week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday.
- For the unemployed, a $300-per-week in enhanced unemployment benefits will be put in effect through March. Unemployment insurance programs for gig workers and the long-term unemployed also would be extended. Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which provided up to 13 additional weeks of jobless benefits to those who had exhausted their regular state benefits, was extended as well.
- Businesses who previously received PPP loans, will be able to deduct expenses related to these loan proceeds.
- A second round of PPP loans (for now called PPP 2) will be available to businesses beginning in early January 2021. These loans will be available to businesses who didn’t receive them under the first round or for businesses who received first round loans, but had a reduction of revenue in 2020 related to the Covid pandemic.
- Simplified loan forgiveness for PPP loans under $150,000.
- The measure contains $25 billion for emergency rental assistance, and it extends the Cares Act’s eviction moratorium until Jan. 31.
- It also has $82 billion for education funding, as well as $10 billion to support childcare providers, $15 billion for entertainment venues and $13 billion for nutrition assistance.
- Additional measures include certain tax breaks and tax extenders for expiring tax provisions.
We will keep you up to date as additional information becomes available. We will look to offer some Zoom webinars in early to mid-January, 2021, so be on the look-out for additional information. If you have specific questions related to your own situation, please feel free to reach out to us via email or phone at 215-723-4881