Blog & Newsroom

The pandemic is not stopping Ohio’s observation of its annual sales tax holiday.

The event kicks off on midnight on Aug. 7 and lasts until Aug. 9 at 11:59 p.m.

During the “holiday,” the following items are exempt from sales and use tax:

Zinner & Co. has officially adopted Intuit’s QuickBooks Discontinuation policy.

If you are using QuickBooks version 2017 or older, we encourage you to upgrade to maintain compliance. This policy will maintain support for the three most recent versions of Intuit QuickBooks.

QuickBooks Desktop 2020 includes new productivity-boosting features to help you save more time and stay more organized. Some of the new/improved features include:

In late June, the Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Procedure 2020-32, in which they set Health Savings Account contribution limits for calendar year 2021, along with minimum deductible and maximum out-of-pocket expenses for the High Deductible Health Plans, with which HSAs are paired.

On May 28, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) will defer Ohio employers' premium installments this summer.

DeWine’s announcement was to help businesses focus on the well-being and safety of their customers and employees.

Businesses will have the option to defer their monthly premium payments with no financial penalties in the months of June, July, and August.

For three Zinnner & Co. interns, their internships were ones they will likely never forget, as they had to overcome a challenging tax season.

When their internships began, Allen Li (Case Western Reserve University), Kyoko Tosi (Kent State University) and Brett Carney (CWRU) likely thought they were in for a normal tax season.

“We learned how to prepare individual tax returns and to issue the 1099 tax forms,” said Tosi. “We were provided with weeks of training, practice period and real work with senior's reviews.”

The work kept them busy as they began an in-depth journey into the world of accounting.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to plan for taxes has become even more important due to all the changes from recently passed coronavirus relief legislation and especially for those businesses seeking forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

While the PPP legislation was designed to help businesses weather the economic storm that many “Stay at Home" orders have created by providing funding to continue to employ workers and, the ramifications of not fully understanding the restrictions for use of these funds could ultimately cause further challenge for business owners.

Business owners and non-profits are strongly urged to reach out to their Zinner & Co. Client Service Team and should feel comfortable accessing information provided by our team of Recovery Specialists, not only in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application process, but also in the proper documentation and accounting for loan proceeds.  

Move made to ease COVID-19 financial impact

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) Administrator/CEO Stephanie McCloud today proposed giving up to $1.6 billion to Ohio employers this spring to ease the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Ohio’s economy and business community.

"This is great news for Ohio’s businesses, and will assist in relieving some of the financial pressures many are experiencing,” said DeWine. “Administrator McCloud and I both encourage businesses to reinvest this money in the health and safety of their employees.” 

The City of Cleveland wants to help businesses in the city, who were impacted by COVID-19. 

Until Jan. 1, 2021, the City of Cleveland is offering loans of up to $10,000 with 0 percent interest.  Loan payments of $150 per month would begin on Jan. 1, 2021. 

The American Institute of CPAs has recommended a defined set of documents for lenders regarding the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application process.

According to the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants, Inc., the recommendations were informed by discussions with an AICPA-led small business funding coalition and other stakeholders in the PPP process with ties to 44,000 CPA firms, 2.5 million small businesses, and 30 million employees.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service recently announced the distribution of economic impact payments will begin within the next three weeks, and will be distributed automatically, with no action required by most people.

However, some seniors and others who typically do not file returns, will need to submit a simple tax return to receive the stimulus payment.