As we continue the strong recovery effort in the Corridor, many business owners face uncertainty about tracking losses and the most efficient ways of getting their businesses and employees up and running again.
The professionals at World Trend Financial and Terry, Lockridge and Dunn have marshaled their resources to determine the most pertinent information necessary to reduce financial stress as a result of this disaster.
With a lot on your mind, from locating inventory to establishing a temporary location, it is important to be aware of the following timely information and two important deadlines for relief applications which are drawing near. Overlooking these could cost you funding opportunities.
Small Business Association (SBA) Information & Deadlines: The two most relevant SBA loans for business owners recovering from the flood include Business Physical Disaster Loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans. Each covers a specific set of losses. Failing to have these in by their deadlines may have a huge impact on how quickly your business recovers.
SBA Deadlines:
o September 29, 2008: Applications for physical damage are due.
o February 27, 2009: Applications for economic damage are due.
Casualty Losses: A casualty loss is a type of tax loss that occurs as a result of an unexpected event. It is calculated by determining the lesser of either the decrease in fair market value of your property or the adjusted basis value of that property. If you own a business or have commercial property, we would suggest tracking your casualty loss amount resulting from the flood by:
o Setting up a separate category in your accounting software program files (i.e., QuickBooks, etc.) to track all flood-related expenses, and/or
o Getting an appraisal to value what your company assets were worth before the flood and what they are currently worth. Please feel free to contact us for an appraiser referral.
Employer/Employee Disaster Relief Payments: For reasonable and necessary expenses approved by the government, federal tax law allows an employer to deduct “qualified disaster relief payments.” These are defined as payments made to, or for the benefit of, an employee or family member for the reimbursement of such expenses incurred as a direct result of a Presidentially declared disaster. An employee may exclude the qualified disaster relief payments from his or her income for costs not reimbursed by insurance or by any other means.
Federal & State Grants
Keep in mind that since businesses are NOT eligible for BOTH federal and state grants, we suggest applying for the more lucrative federal grant first, and then for an Iowa grant, if you do not receive the federal aid.
We continue to monitor pending legislation and financial relief options. If you would like us to update you as new information becomes available, please contact Laura Burkle via e-mail at lburkle@tld-inc.com or call her at (319) 339-4884. We will be happy to add your name to our client contact list.
As always, we welcome the opportunity to speak with you in person to discuss any of your flood-related questions or concerns. We will work through this recovery together.