An Elevated Update: PPP and UI

Tax Deadlines
The 2019 filing deadline was extended from April 15th to July 15th, 2020. If you need to get an extension, make sure to get it in before the 15th of this month. The extension will allow your tax filing deadline to be October 15th, 2020. All 2019 taxes must be paid by July 15th to avoid penalties. For 2020, Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 estimated tax payments are also due on July 15.


PPP Loan Updates
Thankfully, our Government has extended the deadline to apply for PPP Loans that could possibly be forgiven from June 30th to August 8th. These loans can be used towards payroll, rent, mortgage interest, and even utilities. Contact us if you need guidance with applying for this loan or help with filling out the loan forgiveness application.

Unemployment Fraud
We have personally seen Clients within our Elevated Community affected by Unemployment Fraud in the last month and you don’t have to have payroll within your business to be a victim of it. It saddens us to see people taking advantage of hard times, but it is happening.
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The State of Montana reported that it had paid out about $10 million of Fraudulent Unemployment Claims as of the end of April. At the beginning of June the State of Washington estimated that it had paid out between $550-$650 Million in Unemployment Fraud.  
These are staggering numbers.   

How is this happening?
State Unemployment offices have not seen this large of an influx in claims in such a short period of time. Suffice it to say, this was a golden opportunity for people to take advantage and create fraudulent unemployment claims. They were not just filing claims in their names. They are creating claims for other people and then routing the checks to themselves.

How do you know if someone filed a claim with your name and information? You will likely receive a letter from your State Unemployment office stating that a claim was filed. In our experience the fraudulent claims had our Client’s names misspelled, but still similar.

What to do if you receive a letter:

1. Call your State UI Department (be prepared to wait on hold for a while...maybe even make some relaxing herbal tea...practice your deep breathing)
2. Have the letter you receive on hand with you, as they will ask you for the letter confirmation numbers or UI account information.
3. Have your social security number ready. They will ask personal questions including social as well as mailing address, email address, etc. 
4. Be sure to ask them if they have sent out a second letter of verification (this letter asks for more information from the filer such as a copy of your driver's license). 
5. Ask them if anything has been paid out on your unemployment claim. ​

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