The CARES Act has made massive, sweeping changes to our tax system and our business landscape. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, an employee, someone who was recently laid off, or a retiree, you probably have big questions about the programs available to you. How can you best use your money to get through this trying time, and how will you keep up with the constant influx of new information?

To help you make sense of it all, I’m thrilled to bring my friend Liz Mason back to the podcast. She’s the editor at the Tax Practice News as well as a serial entrepreneur who has built five companies. She’s been reading, watching, and synthesizing the vast amount of tax news over the last month, and she can explain what’s going on far better than a TV news pundit or a low-quality article that doesn’t teach you anything useful. 

Today, Liz takes us on a deep dive into the Paycheck Protection Program, disaster loans, and retention tax credits for business owners. We also dig into how retirees can make the most out of their retirement accounts, how to take withdrawals if you need the money to get by, and how the new tax filing deadlines will affect you. 

In this podcast interview, you’ll learn: 

• How to understand the information - good, bad, and sometimes contradictory - that the government is constantly releasing. 
• What the Paycheck Protection Program is aimed to do, why you should apply for it through a local bank rather than a major one, and how to make sure that the loan is forgiven if you get it.
• Why Economic Injury Disaster Loans were rolled out differently than planned for coronavirus relief.
• How to choose between the PPP and the Employee Retention Credit, which is getting far less press - and why this program may be hugely beneficial to your business. 
• Why the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act got rid of carry backs - and how you can now amend your 2018 and 2019 returns to take losses. 
• Who might not receive $1200 recovery rebates - and why these payouts may not come as soon as expected. 
• How the new delayed filing, payment, and contribution deadlines of July 15 affect you.
• How the CARES Act has eased restrictions on retirement withdrawals - and why you shouldn’t do this unless you absolutely have to.