On Friday, the IRS released draft instructions for Form 1040. Buried on page 23 of the instructions (page 24 of the PDF) is the following:
Forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans
The forgiveness of a PPP Loan creates tax-exempt income, so although you don’t need to report the income from the forgiveness of your PPP Loan on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, you do need to report certain information related to your PPP Loan.
Rev. Proc. 2021-48, 2021-49 I.R.B. 835, permits taxpayers to treat tax-exempt income resulting from the forgiveness of a PPP Loan as received or accrued: (1) as, and to the extent that, eligible expenses are paid or incurred; (2) when you apply for forgiveness of the PPP Loan; or (3) when forgiveness of the PPP Loan is granted. If you have tax-exempt income resulting from the forgiveness of a PPP Loan, attach a statement to your return reporting each taxable year for which you are applying Rev. Proc. 2021-48, and which section of Rev. Proc. 2021-48 you are applying—either section 3.01(1), (2), or (3). Any statement should include the following information for each PPP Loan:
1. Your name, address, and ITIN or SSN;
2. A statement that you are applying or applied section 3.01(1), (2), or (3) of Rev. Proc. 2021-48, and for what taxable year (2020 or 2021) as applicable;
3. The amount of tax-exempt income from forgiveness of the PPP Loan that you are treating as received or accrued and for what taxable year (2020 or 2021); and
4. Whether forgiveness of the PPP Loan has been granted as of the date you file your return.Write “RP2021-48” at the top of your attached statement.
As I read the instructions, this applies for any PPP loan for a sole proprietorship (Schedule C business) where there is PPP loan forgiveness in either 2020 or 2021. So this includes people who had the loan forgiven last year!
As the IRS states, “The forgiveness of a PPP Loan creates tax-exempt income, so…you don’t need to report the income from the forgiveness of your PPP Loan on Form 1040 or 1040-SR….” While Rev. Proc. 2021-48 states, “The IRS will publish form instructions for the 2021 filing season that will detail how taxpayers can report consistently with sections 3.01 through 3.03 of this revenue procedure,” wouldn’t the easiest and simplest method be that taxpayers must retain records of their forgiveness of their PPP loans and supply them to the IRS upon request? Instead, we get more “make work” for tax professionals (and taxpayers) for 2021 tax returns. It adds time to return preparation without giving IMHO the IRS any real benefit.
Tags: 2022.Tax.Season, PPP.Loans