In this week’s Monday episode (June 22, 2020) of the Town of Plymouth’s “COVID-19 Daily Update,” Heather reported that the IRS approved some relief last week. If you were 70 1/2 in 2019 and were required to take distributions from a retirement plan like a 401(k) or IRA, the question has been what would happen if you already took your RMD but now wanted to put your money back and take a waiver for this year. (The idea behind that strategy would be that if you put your money back into the market, you could hopefully recoup some of your recent losses.)

The recent IRS determination is that if you had already taken out a distribution in 2020, you have up until August 31, 2020 to return those funds. If you want to reinvest that money or would like to pay fewer taxes this year because you’ll have less taxable income, you will want to act soon. The old rule was that you had up to 60 days but that’s been waived, though only for taxpayers who were subject to the RMD. It does not apply to those who were not required to take a distribution. For example, those who lost their jobs and tapped into their retirement accounts for funds only have the usual 60 days to roll over the money.

Additionally, the SBA clarified some FAQs on their website this week. One important point was regarding the PPP loan term, which went from two years to five years if your loan is not forgiven and if you received your loan on or after June 5, 2020. If you received your loan prior to June 5, you can only change your loan terms to five years if your bank approves the change. The interest rate is only 1%.

As of right now, the PPP loan applications end today, June 30, 2020 at midnight.

This was the final week that Heather will appear on the show to provide updates. As additional PPP updates are sure to be coming in future weeks, small businesses are encouraged to check the SBA website regularly to stay up-to-date.