Getting paid for keeping employees on payroll? Sounds like some sort of utopia. Or maybe it’s just a tax incentive for business owners during the pandemic called the employee retention credit. What is the Employee Retention Credit? The employee retention credit (ERC) is a tax credit established under the CARES Act in 2020 as a […]

Boutique Firm to Focus on Sophisticated Tax and Accounting, Private Equity, Mergers & Acquisitions, International Tax Services, and Private Client Services Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS, is pleased to announce the launch of a new firm, Sasserath & Co. The boutique firm focuses on sophisticated and technical tax and accounting for closely held businesses, private […]

CMM Cares, Inc. has announced the election of Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS, Partner at Sasserath & Zoraian, LLP, to their Board of Directors. CMM Cares is a 501(c)3 and major supporter of veterans, children, and the arts on Long Island through fundraising, volunteering, and awareness campaigns. With the addition of Sasserath to its Board, […]

Getting Ahead of the March 31st Deadline for Each By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS A number of our friends and clients were/are eligible for Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) second draw loans AND the expanded Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”). March 31, 2021 is a critical day for each program. With regard to the ERC, March 31st marks […]

Sasserath & Zoraian, LLP, a New York CPA firm providing accounting, tax, and business advisory services, is pleased to announce that George Batas has been promoted to Partner as of January 1, 2021. George Batas joined Sasserath & Zoraian in 2017, where he quickly became instrumental in establishing and running the firm’s State and Local […]

By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS and George Batas It is tough for us to believe we are writing about new PPP Loans again, but here we are.   First some housekeeping, there are two types of PPP loans referenced in the latest guidance. “First Draw” PPP loans refer to the borrower’s first application whether received […]

Congressional leaders have reached a long-awaited agreement on a $900 billion stimulus package. The measure is expected to provide more than $284 billion for businesses and revive the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a lifeline federal loan program for small businesses that lapsed over the summer. On December 23, 2020, Sasserath & Zoraian, LLP gave an informative […]

By George Batas As such an unprecedented year draws to a close, employers and employees alike may be interested to know that Section 139 of the Internal Revenue Code allows an employer to make qualified disaster relief payments to an individual on a tax-free basis. The employer would get a deduction for the payments and […]

The IRS announced this week that starting in January 2021, the Identity Protection (IP) PIN opt-in program will be expanded to all taxpayers who can properly verify their identities. The IP PIN is a six-digit number assigned to eligible taxpayers to help prevent the misuse of their Social Security number on fraudulent federal income tax […]

By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS Several months have passed since a constant stream of critical PPP updates dominated our days. However, we are writing now because last week the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) released a notice that it will seek to obtain certain information from PPP loan borrowers whose PPP loan exceeds $2 million. […]

By George Batas It is difficult to believe that seven months have passed since the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) started dominating the national business conversation. Yesterday, the U.S. Small Business Administration released a simpler loan forgiveness application for PPP loans of $50,000 or less. The new application is intended to help streamline the PPP forgiveness […]

By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS; Michael D. O’Brien, EA; and Richard Weber; CA March 2012 Vol. 3 No. 3 The Tax Stringer – The global economy has produced a growing need for individuals flexible enough to work outside of their home countries, especially among companies with operations in both Canada and the United States. […]

“You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end – which you can never afford to lose – with discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.” – Admiral Jim Stockdale Admiral Stockdale was the highest-ranking U.S. military officer in the “Hanoi Hilton” prisoner-of-war (“POW”) […]

Late yesterday, the Senate passed the House version of the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act (“PPFA”), adjusting some of the rules under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). The bill will now go to President Trump, who is expected to sign it. Like much of the guidance that has been issued by the Treasury since the PPP was originally […]

We hope you are all well and getting back up and running in a safe manner. As you know, there is more to this pandemic than the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”).  Things have been and continue to change rapidly.  If you are not ahead of the curve, you are behind.  Keep vigilant. In late March […]

  Covid-19 Small Business Administration and New York State Summary of Several Available Loan Programs Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) – This program is currently only accepting applications from agricultural businesses but is expected to open again soon. Applications are completed directly with the SBA. Originally, this was supposed to be a loan of up […]

We hope you are all well and getting back up and running in a safe manner. As promised, attached is our Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loan forgiveness workbook. We have also attached a short instructional video to show you how to use it. As the calculations are complicated and we are accountants and not programmers, […]

Thank you for joining us for yesterday’s webinar, “Breaking Down the PPP Loan Forgiveness Application,” presented by Alan Sasserath. Below are links to our PowerPoint and a recording of the webinar. Our updated workbook will be posted here in the next few days. PPP-Forgiveness Application View the webinar replay here. Please contact us with your […]

By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS Over the last week, we have received further guidance on the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) regarding: 1. Certification including clarity on safe harbor provisions, 2. An extension of time to May 18, 2020 to return PPP loan proceeds under the certification safe harbor provisions, 3. Clarification of partnership loan calculation […]

Thank you for joining us for this morning’s webinar, “Loan Forgiveness Under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).” Below are links to our workbook, PowerPoint and webinar recording. Please contact us with your follow-up questions: George Batas or Fred Rook Download our PPP Forgiveness Workbook here. Download the PowerPoint presentation here. View the webinar replay here.

Presented by Alan Sasserath, CPA, MS – Partner, Sasserath & Zoraian, LLP Sponsored by Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP and CMM Strategies The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application process has been one of the most fraught experiences for the business community – reminiscent of the saying, “Ready, Fire, Aim!” For those businesses fortunate enough to […]

By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS As I have said before, this whole Payroll Protection Program (“PPP”) process is one of the most frustrating processes I have gone through in my career. It reminds me of the saying, “Ready, Fire, Aim.” Fortunately, our practice is focused on working with entrepreneurs, so the saying is familiar to us. The […]

By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS Last week, the Treasury issued further guidance relating to the eligibility to qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loan. In fashion true to form, the guidance issued was sufficiently vague to have many wondering whether or not they are eligible for the PPP loan and can sign off on the […]

By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS It’s been a while since our last update. Since then, many of you were either approved for the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loan or you were not. More fell into the latter category. For those that received it, congratulations. For you now, the work begins as to how to handle […]

By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS We hope everyone is well during these frustrating and sometimes tense times as we work through the requirements regarding the Paycheck Protection Program Loans (“PPPL”). Yesterday, the Treasury Department issued an FAQ answering a lot of the questions regarding PPPL’s. Here are a few of the key questions: Question 7: The […]

By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS Last week and throughout the weekend we worked with many of you to prepare the Paycheck Protection Program Loan (“PPPL”) application, apply for the PPPL, put your name on a list with your lender to be able to apply for the PPPL, and pull together many of the documents required […]

By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS I wish we were back in a time that when things changed from week to week it seemed like chaos. Now things change by the hour and I’m starting to get used to it. Chase held a webinar this afternoon and while we did not attend, we understand that they […]

By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS As you are aware, there is a lot of confusion surrounding the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) – maybe more confusion than certainty. Many of you have taken advantage of our workbook to calculate the loan amount under the PPP. We have adjusted our workbook as described below based on questions […]

By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS It’s been almost a week since our last email and a lot has changed in that time frame. The biggest change was that President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) into law on Friday. There are a myriad of tax changes and economic stimulus provisions in […]

By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS Here is a high-level summary of the “Payment Protection Program Loan” (The loan that can be forgiven under certain circumstances): The amount of the loan is the lesser of (1) the average monthly payroll (salary, wage, commission, tips, vacation, group health benefits…) up to $100,000 per employee for the preceding […]

By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS Over the last week, some of you received two emails from me with the subject “The Next Phase.” For those of you that didn’t receive those emails, please click the link here. You can see how our messaging is becoming more and more clear as the economic challenges surrounding the COVID-19 […]

By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS As you are aware, since my last writing this past Tuesday, the health and economic issues regarding Covid-19 have changed for the worse and will most likely continue to change for the worse in the short term. I have to admit, when I saw that accountants were on the list […]

By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as the recent restrictions and operating hours placed on businesses and social gatherings, the Department of the Treasury announced today that the tax payment deadline of April 15 has been extended by 90 days. Individuals and business filers whose deadline is […]

By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS We hope this finds everyone safe and healthy. To some of us that owned our own business in 2001 (9/11), 2008 (Financial Crisis) and 2012 (Hurricane Sandy), the current economic situation looks and feels familiar, not good, but familiar.  Maybe there is more uncertainty now?  I don’t know.  I do […]

By Alan R. Sasserath, CPA, MS As someone that works with government on a regular basis and reads political Facebook posts, I have little faith that any legislation passed will do what it claims to do. But this bi-partisan legislation is a good piece of legislation that will help employers with fewer than 500 employees […]