Montgomery County business owners impacted by Hurricane Harvey may be unaware they are missing out on tax relief, said Tim Norwood, executive vice president for BCN Management. BCN Management, a consulting firm, was hired through the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce to provide free tax credit eligibility evaluations to local businesses affected by Harvey. If an employer affected by the storm is located in hurricane disaster areas—like Montgomery County—and the employer retained employees, the business is applicable for federal hurricane relief tax credits, Norwood said.

Criteria of an “impacted” business:

• Any type of business that was inoperable any day after Harvey made landfall on Aug. 23, 2017 and before Jan. 1, 2018.
• A business was affected for whatever timespan it suffered a physical, operational, financial or productivity impact.

Examples of an “inoperable” business:

• Employees were unable to get to work.
• Product deliveries were unable to be made.
• Sales were reduced.
• Costs of products were increased.

Potential credits:

• Businesses are eligible for a credit of 40 percent of the first $6,000 in wages paid to an employee after the hurricane or a maximum of $2,400 for each employee.

While business owners do not need to be chamber members to apply for the disaster relief tax credits, individuals must be chamber members to use the tax credit evaluation. The evaluation is free for members, but the BCN receives a percentage of credits obtained for the business. To learn more about the tax credit evaluation, visit the chamber website or call 936-756-6644.