We hope you are all staying safe and sane! The shelter in place order has been extended through May 3rd for the Bay Area, and we're all doing our best to stay connected without breathing on each other. In this newsletter, we'll talk about the new coronavirus stimulus bill that was recently signed into law and how it could affect you.

But First, Taxes!
Two important things:

1. The tax filing deadline was pushed back to July 15th, so if you're running late with your tax stuff, you have some extra time. That said, we'd like to be done with tax returns sooner rather than later, especially because...

2. If you earned less in 2019 than 2018, you may need to file your taxes ASAP to get your stimulus check this year. We're reaching out to clients for whom this may be the case, but if you know someone who hasn't filed their taxes yet, let them know they might want to get on that if they want their stimulus check before next year! Read the article below on how stimulus checks work for more details.

Interesting Articles from Us and Around the Web - Coronavirus Stimulus Edition

How do the Coronavirus Stimulus Checks Work?
In short, you get $1,200 per person and $500 per kid if you make less than $75k (or $150k as a couple). If you make more than that, you get less or nothing. Read on for details and all of the fine print. 

Do You Own a Small Business? How the Stimulus Can Help You
There are lots of measures in the CARES Act to help small businesses who have been affected by Covid-19. The biggest one is the Paycheck Protection Program, but there are other tax credits as well. Even sole proprietors and self employed workers can apply for immediate forgivable disaster loans up to $10,000. 

The CARES Act Waives RMDs for 2020
One of the lesser known aspects of the CARES Act is for retirees - you don't need to take a required minimum distribution this year from your IRA. This is not retroactive, which means that if you already took your RMD, you can't put it back. However, an RMD check can be rolled over back into an IRA within 60 days, so if you've taken an RMD within the past 2 months and want to undo it, you'll need to act quickly - let us know! 

For many retirees, it will still make sense to take your RMD, and we'll be talking with you individually about the tax impact of deciding whether or not to take your RMD for this year before it happens.

Small Bump for Charitable Deductions
A relatively minor part of the CARES Act gives everybody a $300 above-the-line deduction for cash donations to charity. Note that this is for people who don't itemize (and therefore don't normally get any tax credit for charitable donations). If you do itemize, your charitable deduction has been raised from 60% of AGI all the way up to 100% of AGI. Super donors, act now!

Other Things to Help You While You Hunker Down

Downtown Delivered - Options for curbside pickup or delivery from restaurants in Santa Cruz

Goodreads Calendar - Things to do (virtually) in Santa Cruz this week