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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.  

In response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Zinner & Co. LLP continues to focus on the health and safety of our staff, our clients and our community. As part of these continued efforts, we will be taking the following steps beginning on March 22 in response to Ohio’s “Stay at Home” order:

• Our office will be closed to all visitors.
• Our staff will continue to work remotely with very limited staffing of the office each day.
• Our telephones will be answered by an auto attendant. While you will have access to our company directory when calling, extension numbers are included in the email signature of all Zinner & Co. associates. Our phones will forward to our remote work locations.

On March 18, the Internal Revenue Service provided clarification to special payment relief for individuals and businesses in response to the COVID-19 Outbreak.

For individual returns, income tax payment deadlines with a due date of April 15, 2020, are automatically extended until July 15, 2020, for up to $1 million of their 2019 tax due.

This payment relief applies to all individual returns, including self-employed individuals, and all entities other than C-Corporations, such as trusts or estates. The IRS will automatically provide this relief to taxpayers. Taxpayers do not need to file any additional forms or call the IRS to qualify for this relief.

Zinner & Co. is proud to introduce our new 2020 tax season interns. We hope this snapshot of them will help you get to know them, as some of our clients will be receiving communications from our interns, as they will work on tax returns this season.