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Every small business is different, even in the same industry. Services, products, and clients all bring with them unique challenges. But most problems small business owners face fall into similar, broad categories.

If you experience a job loss, you will of course have numerous questions as to how it will impact your job situation. Whether you are an employee who lost your job or a business owner who had to lay off your workers, here are some important details to keep in mind.

How Will Your Job Loss Affect Your Tax Situation?

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected businesses around the nation. Due to this, some impacted businesses can take advantage of a reimbursable tax credit known as the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). The ERC is an incentive meant for employers to encourage employee retention during the pandemic.

Reputation is everything - particularly for a small business owner. Referrals bring you new business, and word-of-mouth can establish you as a trustworthy partner in your community. In the past, your reputation flowed between individuals or written recommendations that you solicited, but all this has changed with the Internet.

Coronavirus has disrupted the economy, shuttered businesses, and cause major uncertainty for small business owners. For some, it’s been easy to move their business online or continue fulfilling and shipping orders.

For most people, paying taxes is straightforward. You get a paycheck from your employer and the employer has already deducted the amount you owe to the IRS. When it comes time to file your tax return, the discrepancy between what you owe and what you already paid might be minimal.

In this gig economy, more taxpayers than ever before are receiving tip income. Whether the tips are from waiting tables, driving for Uber, or making home deliveries, those tips are considered taxable income. However, there is a lot of confusion over how to report tip income, what is the threshold for reporting and who should report it.

With the recent coronavirus outbreak, discussions of paid leave, and states of emergency, more attention has been paid to sick time and paid time off than ever before. If you’re a small business owner with just a few employees, you might not have an official sick time policy.

Do you have an elderly parent or adult relative that you take care of? It doesn’t have to be a parent; it could be an adult child with special needs, an elderly aunt or another close relative. As long as it is a qualifying relationship, the IRS allows you to claim such a persons as a dependent on your tax return.

Being able to borrow is a huge benefit when you need extra help, but debt is a huge burden that is very hard to dig your way out of. The problem is that debt creeps up on you over time. No one purposely goes into debt for tens of thousands of dollars.