At the end of December, President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) into law. The CAA included another $900 billion in stimulus efforts tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. Church Law & Tax has posted and made available to the public an article by Ted Bateson summarizing a number of the CAA’s provisions important to churches and church-related or private religious schools. 

Importantly, the CAA allows churches that have received PPP loans the ability to apply for a second loan. The CAA also has adjusted the criteria for applicants and the guidelines for what may be considered qualifying expenses and the time frame in which the loan must be used. 

There are many other provisions in the CAA, which is 5,593 pages long, that may be relevant to your church. I would strongly encourage the pastoral and the financial leadership of each of our churches to take a few moments to read Ted Bateson’s summary to see if or how the CAA may open up the door for some financial relief. 

Here is Ted Bateson’s article in Church Law & Tax.  

Please keep in mind that even though vaccines for COVID-19 have started to be distributed, we continue to be in the midst of multiple interwoven crises; i.e., health, economic, political, and racial. The future is very uncertain and unstable and this uncertainty and instability will likely last for a considerable amount of time. 

Please let me know if I can be of assistance, have fun reading, and I hope you find Bateson’s article helpful.

Thank you for all your support of the SNEC. It is much appreciated and certainly not taken for granted. Together we share the ministry of the Gospel and together we will make it through these challenging times!

David