Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business News

8a Program Eligibility – The $750,000 Adjusted Net Worth Requirement

cloveer.com Leave a comment

Among the many 8a business development program eligibility requirements, the applicant for 8a Certification must have a personal adjusted net worth of less than $750,000 at the time of 8a Application Submission.

What is the definition of Adjusted Net Worth?

The algorithm used to determine Adjusted Net Worth for 8a Certification purposes is:

Adjusted Net Worth = Personal Assets – Personal Liabilities – [Equity in primary residence + value of ownership interest in applicant business + value of any IRA/401(k) or other retirement account that is subject to a penalty for early withdrawal]

If the applicant is married and the asset or liability is jointly held, you split the value 50/50. If the applicant is married and lives in a community property state, you only split assets and liabilities 50/50 if you have a transmutation or pre/post nuptial agreement that states otherwise.

How can I determine my Adjusted Worth?

You can easily determine your Adjusted Net Worth by using our Adjusted Net Worth Calculator.

anw

What is required to be submitted within the 8a Application to prove the applicant’s Adjusted Net Worth?

Each applicant, and their spouse, must submit a separate Personal Financial Statement. Along with the personal financial statement you must also submit statements for each asset or liability supporting the amounts reported. These statements cannot be any older than 30 days at the time of 8a Application submission.

Are there any ways to reduce an applicant’s Adjusted Net Worth below the $750,000 threshold?

For more information, contact us.

*Important* You cannot transfer an asset out of the applicant’s name within two years of the time your apply for 8a Certification for less than fair market value. Doing so will result in the full amount of the asset being re attributed back to the applicant.

8a Certification Advantages

cloveer.com Leave a comment

8a certification is a valuable marketing vehicle for socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses to access the federal government marketplace. Initially, contracting under the 8a Program may seem more difficult than other methods. However, it is no more complicated than contracting under full and open competition through the sealed bid procurement process and it presents many advantages for both the government and the 8a contractor.

Advantages to the Government

A big advantage for government procurement personnel in selecting the 8a contracting method is that the agency does not have to solicit bids and may choose a specific 8a contractor to fulfill its requirements. For sole-source requirements under the competitive thresholds, the contracting agency can identify the 8a company to perform a contract by simply naming that company in an offering letter to the SBA. Of course this does not happen by itself. The 8a firm must actively self-market with the contracting agency or be introduced to the contractor through a referral. For competitive 8a requirements, the contracting agency does not have the same ability to choose a contractor, although the competition can be limited to eligible 8a companies within a certain geographic area or participation stage.

Another advantage for the government is that they can often get what they need faster by contracting though the 8a Program. This is because competitive requirements must be synopsized in SAM.GOV and the resulting solicitation must be open on the street for a minimum of 30 days. This process for full and open competition can take several months. 8a contracts have no synopsis requirements (except for competitive 8a contracts) and contracting agencies are not required to allow 8a firms 30 days to respond to the solicitation. Therefore 8a contracts can be finalized much faster.

Advantages to the 8a Contractor

The advantages to an 8a company are great. An 8a company can obtain federal contracts on a sole-source or limited competition basis much faster than in a full and open competition. For many small businesses, the costs of preparing proposals are very prohibitive. If the contract is a sole source, the 8a firm does not have to endure the costs associated with preparing a competitive proposal and participating in subsequent rounds of discussions with the contracting agency’s contracting officer.

Once the buying agencies are aware of the advantages of the 8a process and have a good experience with your 8a firm, they will most likely prefer to extend future contracts to you. The SBA plays a role in the beginning of the contracting process by verifying and approving the requirement for the 8a company. Once the requirement is in place, the 8a company and the federal agency deal directly with each other during negotiation of the contract and during performance of the contract.

Looking for help with Getting 8a Certified?

For clients who are too busy running their businesses to complete the application themselves, we understand you don’t have time to look over the 8a checklist and that you would rather have a group of trusted 8a program experts more involved in your application. Cloveer offers other services including an 8a Application Review, and for those who would like their entire 8a application completed and approved in record time, a full 8a Application Completion Service.

No matter which option you choose, Cloveer guarantees that no other company will work harder or faster to assist you in getting your business SBA 8a certified. We have been assisting clients to obtain their 8a certification and maintain their 8a program eligibility for over 20 years. As such, we know the SBA 8a program regulatory requirements, 8a standard operating procedures and Office of Hearings and Appeal cases that affect the 8a program better than 99.9% of anyone else out there.

At Cloveer, we believe in treating you the way we want to be treated. We go the extra mile to make sure your experience with our company is outstanding. Contact us today to discover what Cloveer can do for you.

A list of supporting documentation that must be submitted with your 8a Application

cloveer.com Leave a comment

Here is a typical list of supporting documents that will need to be included within your 8(a) application:

  • Evidence of concerns registration in SAM (System for Award Management) and DSBS (Dynamic Small Business Search) systems
  • Personal federal tax returns for the last three filing years
  • Company federal tax returns for the last three filing years
  • A company balance sheet and income statement no older than 90 days and for the last three completed years
  • Personal resume
  • List of current and past federal and non-federal contracts and invoices within the last two completed fiscal years
  • Letters of reference from current and/or past clients
  • Current certificate of good standing
  • Stock certificates/Stock ledger (Corp)
  • Articles of Incorporation/Organization/Partnership Agreement including any foreign filings
  • Bylaws or Operating Agreements
  • Meeting minutes (Corp and LLC)
  • Buy/Sell or Voting Agreements
  • DBA or Fictitious Business Name Filing
  • Organization chart
  • Business bank signature card
  • business and special licenses
  • Business loan agreements
  • Brief history of the business
  • Lease agreements for business
  • Business insurance
  • Personal financial statement supporting statements (Checking, Savings, IRA w/terms, etc..)
  • Proof of Citizenship
  • Trust Agreements
  • Statement of Bonding Limit
  • Letter of No Objection

Keep in mind that each 8(a) Application is unique and document requirements vary based upon the entity type and number of applicants.

8a Certification: How to determine if your AGI is below the $350,000 threshold.

cloveer.com Leave a comment

The $350,000 Threshold for Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)

Among the many 8(a) business development program eligibility requirements the applicant for 8(a) Certification must have is an average AGI over the past three taxes years of less than $350,000.

What is the definition of Adjusted Gross Income?

Adjusted gross income (AGI) is a tax term for an amount used in the calculation of an individual’s income tax liability. AGI is calculated by taking the applicants gross income and subtracting their maximum allowable adjustments. AGI is located on line Line 7 for 2018 personal taxes, Line 8B for 2019 Taxes and Line 11 for 2020 personal taxes.

How do I determine my Adjusted Gross Income for 8(a) Certification Purposes?

Step 1: The easiest way to initially determine if you exceed the $350,000 threshold, averaged over the last three years is to add up the AGI number reported on the first page of your last three years of federal tax returns.

Please note: If your portion of the applicant firm’s business income is negative or shown as a loss, you cannot deduct this loss from your AGI since losses from an S corporation, LLC or partnership are losses to the company only and are not losses to the individual and cannot be used to reduce your AGI.

If you add these three numbers, divide them by three and result is a number larger than $350,000 you must do further analysis. Go to Step 2.

If the number is less than $350,000 and your distributions taken out the company do not exceed the profits reported for your business on its tax return, your AGI is less than $350,000 without doing any further analysis.

If your distributions exceed the profits reported for your business, you must do further analysis. Go to Step 2.

Step 2: If your resulting calculation shows more than $350,000 or your distributions exceed the profits reported for your business on its tax return, and you are filing the taxes jointly with your spouse, you will then need to separate out the portion of any income reported on the tax return between the applicant and their spouse.

For example: (1040). Wages, salaries, tips, etc. = $100,000 (Applicant’s portion, $40,000 – Spouse’s portion, $60,000). Do the same for each income line as specified above.

Once you have separated out all income reported on the tax return between the applicant and their spouse take the total for the last three years and divide them by three. If the resulting calculation is still larger than $350,000 you must do further analysis. Go to Step 3.

If the number is less than $350,000 and your distributions taken out the company do not exceed the profits reported for your business on its tax return, your AGI is less than $350,000 without doing any further analysis.

Step 3:  There is one final analysis that can be performed to see if you still exceed the $350,000 AGI threshold. If the applicant business concern is an S corporation, LLC or partnership you may:

(Please note: Single Member LLC’s that file a Schedule C cannot use the below in their calculations, per the SBA):

  1. Deduct any income associated with the business that was reinvested into the business concern, less any distributions taken.

Example 1: Your applicant business income shown on the tax return is $100,000. You took $0 in distributions. The result is that $100,000 was reinvested or not distributed therefore the entire $100,000 can be deducted from your AGI calculation.

Example 2: Your applicant business income shown on the tax return is $100,000. You took $50,000 in distributions. The result is that $50,000 was reinvested or not distributed therefore the $50,000 can be deducted from your AGI calculation.

  1. Deduct any income used to pay the LLC or S-Corporation Federal taxes owed on behalf of the income from your LLC or S-Corporation income reported. Please note the SBA does not count or allow any State taxes you may have paid to reduce your AGI. Only Federal taxes paid are allowable to reduce your AGI.

In order to determine what the Federal taxable income tax that you paid on behalf of the business income reported on your tax return you must determine your IRS Income Tax rate.

To determine your IRS Income Tax rate, look at your 1040 form (Taxable Income).

Then, click here to visit a site that will show you your tax bracket percentage. Be sure the indicate the tax year, filing status and then lookup your tax bracket percentage based upon your taxable income.

Example: Your applicant business income shown on the tax return is $100,000. Your determined IRS Income Tax rate is 24% therefore you are responsible for $24,000 that would be paid to the IRS on the income from your business reported and the result would be an additional $24,000 that can be deducted from your AGI calculation.

As you can see from above, determining your AGI can be somewhat complex for 8(a) Certification purposes. Cloveer can help you to determine your AGI should you need further assistance. We offer an AGI Analysis Service for $250.00 where we will perform an analysis for the last three years and provide you a detailed report showing you exactly what your AGI is for each year and averaged over the last three years. If you are interested in this service, please request a service agreement or give us a call at 813-333-5800 for more information.

2 options to get your 8a application certified in the least amount of time possible

cloveer.com Leave a comment

Option 2 – 8a Application Review  – $2,550.00

  • For those who wish to complete the application on their own we offer an 8a Application Review service.  Here, one of our 8a program experts will review your entire application, checking it for missing documents and potential eligibility issues.  We will then advise you as to how best to modify your application to ensure it will be approved an SBA reviewer.

Option 3 – 8a Application Completion Service – $4,500.00

  • The majority of our clients however, prefer a little more of a hands-on approach.  They recognize the expertise we have accumulated in the over 12 years we’ve been assisting clients obtain 8a certification, and want us to put it to use for them.  If you opt for our 8a Application Completion Service, we will work one-on-one with you to ensure that your 8a Application is 100% complete and compliant so the SBA can review and accept it the first time.

With 20 years and over 3,000 successful applications under our belt, we can assure you that no matter which option you choose, Cloveer will work harder and faster to get your business SBA 8a certified.  Contact us today to discover what Cloveer can do for you.

Special Licenses Requirements within the SBA 8a Application

cloveer.com 2 Comments

If any special licenses are required for the industry in which the business concern operates, such as a General Contractors license, Professional Engineers (PE) license, Plumbing license, etc. has a copy been provided?

Is the license current and in the name of the business concern with the Applicant for 8a Certification as the holder/qualifier?

If the license holder/qualifier is not the Applicant, is the license holder/qualifier an equity owner within the business concern? If so, the SBA will determine that this individual has the ability to impact the control of the business concern, therefore the business concerns 8a Application will most likely be denied.

If the license holder/qualifier is the Applicant, and the license holder/qualifier has NO equity with the business concern, the Applicant and business concern must be able to prove that they have ultimate managerial and supervisory control of this individual.

 

Can 8a Contracts be Protested?

cloveer.com Leave a comment

The size status of the apparent successful offeror for competitive 8a procurement may be protested.

The size status of the participant for a sole source 8a procurement may not be protested by another 8a participant or any other business.

The eligibility of a 8a participant for a sole source or competitive 8a procurement cannot be challenged by another 8a participant or any other business.

An 8a participant cannot appeal the SBA’s determination not to award it a specific 8a contract because the concern lacks an element of responsibility or is ineligible for the contract other than to request a formal size determination where SBA cannot verify it to be small.

The NAICS code assigned to a sole source 8a procurement may not be challenged by another 8a participant or any other business. In connection with a competitive 8a procurement, any business concern who has been adversely affected by a NAICS code designation may appeal the designation to the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals.

For more information on the SBA 8a Program, visit cloveer.com

How does the SBA review the business concern’s tax returns during the 8a Application review process?

cloveer.com Leave a comment

The SBA will verify the following:

a. Have you provided complete copies of the business concern’s Federal business tax returns for the last three years. If the business concern is a sole proprietor, you must submit the Schedule C for the last three years?

– 1120 or 1120s for Corporations

– 1065 for Multiple Member LLCs

– Schedule C for Sole Proprietors or Single Member LLCs

DO NOT SUBMIT COPIES OF THE BUSINESS CONCERNS STATE TAX RETURNS

b. Have all schedules and additional statements that are mentioned within the business tax returns been included?

c. Do you have any questionable items on the schedules or statements that require additional explanations? If so, we suggest you address these items within your 8a Application paperwork to be provided.

d. Do the tax returns indicate that the business concern has been operating in its primary industry (NAICS) code for at least the last two years? Your tax return should identify the six digit NAICS code which is identified as your primary NAICS code on your 8a Application paperwork. If the NAICS code identified on the tax return is different than the primary NAICS code identified on your 8a Application paperwork you must include a NAICS code explanation letter within your 8a Application.

e. Does the business tax information correspond with the financial statements (Balance Sheet and Income Statement) included within your 8a Application paperwork?

f. Can the salaries, wages and distributions of the 8a applicant, officers or partners be verified?

g. Does the percentage of ownership identified on the tax returns correspond with the 8a Application paperwork?

h. If the business concern has elected to be treated as an S-Corporation, have you provided copies of all K-1s.

i. Have you included copies of the cancelled check, bank statement or IRS account balance transcript to show payment for all amounts indicated on the “Amount Owed” line of the tax return?

j. What trend do the tax returns show? (i.e. downward trend in income, substantial gain in income, etc.) If the business concern’s tax returns show a significant downward trend or increase in sales you should be prepared to respond to potential SBA questions as to why?

View the related article on “How does the SBA review the Individual’s tax returns during the 8a Application review process?”

 

Unconditional Ownership Requirements for 8a Certification

cloveer.com 1 Comment

The business concern that is applying for 8a Program Certification must be at least 51% unconditionally and directly owned by one or more economically and socially disadvantaged individuals who are US citizens.

Unconditional ownership is defined as ownership that is not subject to conditions precedent, conditions subsequent, executory agreements, voting agreements, restrictions on or assignments of voting rights or other arrangements causing or potentially causing ownership to go to another (other than after death or incapacity).

As stated above, ownership must be direct and cannot be owned by another business entity or by a trust that is in turn owned and controlled by one or more economically and socially disadvantaged individuals.  However, in the case of ownership by a trust, such as a living trust, ownership will be treated as direct where the trust is revocable, and the disadvantaged individual is the grantor, a trustee, and the sole current beneficiary of the trust.

In the case of a Partnership, at least 51% of every class of partnership interest must be unconditionally owned by one or more of disadvantaged individuals.

In the case of a Limited Liability Company, at least 51% of each class of member interest must be unconditionally owned by one or more of disadvantaged individuals.

In the case of a Corporation, at least 51% of every class of voting stock outstanding and 51% of the aggregate of all stock outstanding must be unconditionally owned by one or more of disadvantaged individuals.

The SBA will disregard any unexercised stock options or similar agreements held by the disadvantaged individuals. However, any unexercised stock options or similar agreements held by anyone other than a disadvantaged individual will be treated as exercised.

The pledge or encumbrance of stock or other ownership interest as collateral, including seller financed transactions, does not affect the unconditional nature of ownership if the terms follow normal commercial practices and the disadvantaged persons retain control absent violations of the terms.

These are just a few of the requirements that must be met to ensure unconditional ownership. Please contact Cloveer.com to discuss your unique business circumstances to ensure you meet all unconditional ownership requirements.

How does the SBA determine if an 8a applicant business concern is defined as a Small Business?

cloveer.com Leave a comment

The 8a applicant business concern must define their primary North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code with the 8a Application paperwork. The primary NAICS code is the six digit code in which the business concern earned its largest segment of annual receipts or total income, in the most recently completed fiscal or taxable year.

For example, a business concern that earned its largest segment of total income engaged in commercial or institutional building construction would have a primary NAICS code of 236220.

To begin determining if the business concern is defined as a Small Business, the SBA will lookup the size standard for the NAICS code.

For example, the size standard threshold for NAICS code 236220 is $33.5M.

The SBA will then add the amounts reported on the business concerns “Gross Receipts or Sales” line of their business tax return for the last three taxable years and determine its three year total income.

Finally, the SBA will take the three year total income and divide this amount by three to determine its three year average total income.  The three year average income amount is the amount used to determine if the business concern is below the size standard threshold for their primary NAICS code.

In our example, if the business concern’s three year average income is less than $33.5M, the business concern will be classified by the SBA as a “Small Business”.

*Important*

When the SBA examines the size of the business concern they will look for any possible issues involving affiliation. Affiliation arises when the business concern controls another firm or another firm controls the business concern. It can also arise when one individual has the power to control both the business concern and another firm (e.g. this individual owns more than one firm) or there are identical or substantially identical business or economic interests, such as family members, persons with common investments or firms that are economically dependent through contractual or other relationships. The SBA will also consider ownership, management, previous relationships with or ties to another firm, and contractual relationships in determining whether affiliation exists.

If you suspect that you may possibly have an affiliation with another firm, contact Cloveer for further assistance.