Under the CARES Act, payroll costs are calculated on a gross basis without regard to (i.e., not including subtractions or additions based on) federal taxes imposed or withheld, such as the employee’s and employer’s share of Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) and income taxes required to be withheld from employees. As a result, payroll costs are not reduced by taxes imposed on an employee and required to be withheld by the employer, but payroll costs do not include the employer’s share of payroll tax. For example, an employee who earned $4,000 per month in gross wages, from which $500 in federal taxes was withheld, would count as $4,000 in payroll costs. The employee would receive $3,500, and $500 would be paid to the federal government. However, the employer-side federal payroll taxes imposed on the $4,000 in wages are excluded from payroll costs under the statute. [see PPP FAQ, question 16]
Articles in this section
- Can I use the SBA PPP Direct Forgiveness portal when applying for forgiveness?
- Which NAICS codes are accepted by the SBA?
- What qualifies as “gross receipts” for my business when I am entering amounts for my revenue reduction?
- If I have two PPP loans in 2021, can my Covered Periods for the two loans overlap?
- I submitted my first draw forgiveness application to Scratch already - why won’t it let me access my second draw application yet?
- What quarters or reference periods can I compare to show I experienced a 25% or more revenue reduction?
- Why do I need to upload documentation to show my 25% or more revenue reduction?
- Which reference quarters should I use to show my 25% or more revenue reduction? Can I use an annual comparison instead?
- What documentation do I need to provide to corroborate that my entity sustained at least a 25% reduction in gross receipts?
- If I have self-employment income and file a Form 1040, Schedule C or F, which of my nonpayroll costs are eligible for forgiveness?