Washington State DOR Guidance on PPP Loan Forgiveness

By Bob Heller, JD LLM

April 8, 2021 Update: The Legislature has enacted a specific exemption from the B&O tax for qualifying grants received on or after February 29, 2020. Read more here. 

The Washington State Department of Revenue (DOR) recently published guidance regarding its view on whether federal COVID-19 related financial assistance is subject to the Business & Occupation (B&O) tax (including loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program [PPP]).

According to the guidance, the DOR indicates that it does not believe the financial assistance is includable in the measure of the B&O tax, and that taxpayers should not report such amounts. It goes on to say that if legislative clarification is provided that results in a different conclusion, no interest or penalties will be imposed on any retroactive application of such clarification.

The guidance can be found on the DOR website.

If you have any questions, please contact any member of the SALT group.

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