The onset of the coronavirus pandemic may be more than three years ago, but the truth of the matter is that the salon industry is far from recovered from the closing, reopenings, and constantly changing regulations. And while the government has offered salon pros the opportunity to receive financial assistance in the form of COVID-relief programs, many of these offerings—like the Employment Retention Tax Credit (ERC)—have only been beneficial to employers, such as salon and barbershop owners.
As far as self-employed beauty pros are concerned, there has been little attention paid towards their COVID-relief—that is, until now. At long last, independent beauty and barber pros, booth renters, salon suite owners, self-employed nail techs, and estheticians can finally take part in receiving aid during these difficult times thanks to tax credits under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). And, we’re happy to report that the Professional Beauty Federation has created the ultimate resource to help make accessing these incredible federal relief funds an absolute breeze.
What is the Families First Coronavirus Response Act?
For those who don’t know, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act is a federal relief program that was passed in March 2020 to help provide much-needed financial assistance to self-employed individuals who were impacted by COVID-related lockdowns, quarantines, and school closures. Under this program, qualified self-employed taxpayers could be eligible to receive up to two tax credits to help cover the cost of taking time off due to the pandemic: sick leave and family leave.
With the FFCRA’s sick leave provision, self-employed beauty pros who were unable to work (including telework and working remotely) due to their health being impacted by COVID-19 may qualify for tax credits of up to $5,110 for 2020 as well as 2021, if they took leave between April 1, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2020 and Jan. 1, 2021 and March 31, 2021. And with the act’s family leave provision, self-employed beauty pros could also receive tax credits of up to $10,000 for 2020 as well as 2021, if they were unable to work because they were caring for their child or someone else impacted by COVID-19 during the periods of April 1, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2020 and Jan. 1, 2021 and March 31, 2021.
Depending on a number of factors (including the reported average daily self-employment income and how long the sick leave lasted), self-employed stylists and barbers may qualify for tax credits of up to $32,220 for both 2020 and 2021. However, it’s important to note that while any 1099 independent contractor, booth/suite renter, or self-employed beauty pro may be eligible to receive FFCRA funds, to actually qualify, they must have filed a Schedule SE—which reports their self-employed income— as part of their 2020 and/or 2021 1040 Tax Returns. The good news? These 100% refundable tax credits don’t have to be paid back or forgiven (yep, you read that right!) and can be spent any way you want!
Here’s How the Professional Beauty Federation is Helping Beauty Pros Apply for the FFCRA
To ensure that self-employed beauty pros take advantage of this last remaining COVID-relief opportunity from the federal government, the PBF has launched the only self-guided, online portal (which can be accessed at https://www.probeautyrelief.com/ffcra) to assist them with recovering income disrupted by the pandemic through FFCRA tax credits.
Partnering with Adesso Capital, the PBF has created a completely automated, self-guided online submission process for independent beauty pros to easily submit their claims directly to the federal government. Much like its counterpart for employers applying for ERC funds, this incredible resource will make sure every qualifying stylist and barber in our industry maximizes their legally entitled share of funds before the program ends. And to go the extra mile for beauty and barbering families, the PBF will allow the self-employed/1099 spouse or significant other of beauty pros to use the portal—even if they don’t work in the industry.
Speaking on this exciting resource, PBF Legal Counsel and Advocate Fred Jones stated, “All of our beauty and barber professionals felt the financial pinch during the pandemic, and this is our chance as an association to help the industry get some much needed relief. We’ve been helping employee-based salon owners for the past year apply and receive millions of dollars with ERC, and now we have an opportunity to help the self-employed — the true heart and soul of our beloved industry. Even if an independent beauty or barber worker received PPP, they still likely qualify. And if a self-employed professional qualifies, the money is theirs, free and clear with no need to apply for forgiveness.”
Through their successful partnership with Adesso Capital, the PBF has already helped over 10,000 beauty pros receive PPP forgivable relief funds and thousands of employee-based salon owners receive ERC credits. In fact, in the past two years, the PBF has injected over $30 million dollars back into the beauty industry by successfully guiding beauty pros through these oftentimes, very complicated government applications.
For more information on how to apply for FFCRA tax credits, be sure to visit www.ProBeautyRelief.com/ffcra.
