New Loans For Your Family Entertainment Center (FEC) 2021
Article written by Dutch Magrath, President of Amusement Products


Available funding for FECs
Did you know there are some available funding for FECs? If you are the owner of a Family Entertainment Center you have to know about these three funds that may help your location. Below, you’ll find all the information you need!
Have you heard of these three COVID-19 stimulus/relief funds?
ERTC funds
PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) funds
Round 2 PPP Funds
All three funds are available to nearly every small business, including FECs. If you have not applied for them, you need to learn about them quickly and apply for them.
Even if you have applied and received the first round of PPP funds, there have been changes since the first guidelines came out and you should make sure you have taken full advantage of all three funds.
The ERTC- Employee Retention Tax Credit:
In conversations with customers and prospects, we have found that very few are aware of this separate fund that will supply a credit of up to 50% for any employee you paid in a quarter of up to $10,000 ($5,000 max per employee) in 2020. In addition, it applies to the first two quarters of 2021 but at 70% of up to $10,000 per employee ($14,000 max per employee).
In conversations with customers and prospects, we have found that very few are aware of this separate fund that will supply a credit of up to 50% for any employee you paid in a quarter of up to $10,000 ($5,000 max per employee) in 2020. In addition, it applies to the first two quarters of 2021 but at 70% of up to $10,000 per employee ($14,000 max per employee).
The first PPP fund:
The first PPP funds were approved by Congressional vote in April 2020. It eventually became two rounds. The first funds were allocated in the first 13 days while the second funds allocated still have funds available. If you did not apply for it, you can still do so, and you should do so immediately. You have until March 31, 2021.
Also, if you applied but did not include employee expenses such as health insurance costs, you can go back and apply for the additional funds that you should have requested in the first round of PPP funds. When the first guidelines came out, they were vague. Since that time, there have been at least two amendments that have changed how the funds can be forgiven and what you must do to receive forgiveness.
Lastly, IAAPA presented a 1-hour seminar on the funds with a well-respected expert discussing all three funds. As a final comment he said, “If you did not get full forgiveness for your PPP funds, you did something wrong!” In other words, the PPP funds, once forgiven, are tax-free. In fact, you can still use the same labor expenses for your 2020 tax filing even if you had full payment through the PPP forgiven. This is an unprecedented way to add value to your business without giving any ownership value or paying taxes.
The second round PPP Funds:
In a second Congressional order, a second round of PPP funds has been authorized and you can get up to the same amount that your company received during the first round. It has only a few stipulations:
All the first round PPP funds your company received have been spent.
If the first round PPP funds have not been spent, you must show how they will be spent on employees before the second round of PPP funds would be spent.
You must have less than 300 employees.
All indications today are that Congress will follow a similar route as the first round of PPP funds for forgiveness. While there is no guarantee that these funds will be forgiven, they still have an exceptionally low-interest rate. Most indications are that with a few exceptions, the first round will be fully forgiven and at least a good portion of the second round should be forgiven. If the possibility is there that they can be forgiven, we think the tax-free possibilities are well worth the risk.
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