CARES ACT

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Coronavirus legislation and its impact on churches and ministries (Board of Pensions)

PCUSA RESOURCE: SUMMARY OF CARES ACT PROVISIONS

SYNOPSIS:

Being More with map transparent pngThe CARES Act 2020 was signed into law by the president. Based upon the information derived from several webinars, below is a summary of how the Act can benefit your presbytery or church. We encourage you to prepare for the loan application process ASAP as the funds are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The Small Business Administration will be finalizing the details very soon.

Round 2 of PPP funding nears

READ: How the COVID-19 economic stimulus bill affects churches and non-profits

CARES Act 2020 (Paycheck Protection Program) in a nutshell:

  1. The CARES Act has allocated $349B to the Paycheck Protection Program.

  2. The loans will be available to all 501(c)(3)’s on a first-come, first-serve basis through your local bank if they are an SBA approved lender.

  3. Loans are based on 2.5 times average monthly payroll costs from 03/01/2019 – 02/29/2020.

  4. Forgiveness of loan amount will be based on the percentage of 02/15/2020 – 06/30/2020, FTE employees over 02/15/2019 – 06/30/2019.

  5. There will be no payments for the loan in 2020.

  6. Unforgiven loan amount will be paid over 10 years beginning in 2021.

  7. Interest rate is <4%

  8. No collateral or personal guarantees will be required.

  9. No  fees will be charged.

  10. Good faith certification required to certify that funds were used for payroll, mortgage, lease and utility payments.

Key awareness: The payroll protection piece is available to churches and presbyteries, but all of these pots are limited. Folks need to be ready to apply when it becomes available to do so, possibly in early April. Here are some notes to assist with that preparation

How to prepare for the loan application and loan forgiveness:

  1. Create spreadsheet of payroll costs from 03/2019 – 02/2020. Include 1099 contract employees. 

  2. Get in touch with you banker IMMEDIATELY and specifically the SBA loan administrator for application details. (Not all banks handle SBA loans, so find one that does if your does not)

  3. Calculate FTE’s 02/15/2019 – 06/30/2019 and 02/15/2020 – 06/30/2019 (at June 30th – to determine loan forgiveness amount. See details to help determine what that looks like for you.)

Additional Benefits to Churches

  1. Expanded 2020 standard deduction for charitable contribution

  2. Business deduction for charitable contributions limits increased from 10% to 25%.

  3. Expanded unemployment benefits.

LINKS:

Resources recommended by PCUSA General Counsel Mike Kirk are listed at this link.

https://www.churchcovid19.com – You will be directed to the Vanderbloemen website. Listen to the webinars (The Senate Bill’s Affect on Churches and Nonprofits) from 03/25/2020, 03/26/2020 and 03/27/2020. Presentation slides are also available to be downloaded.

Summary of CARES Act Provisions