As consumers tighten their wallets amid increasing inflation rates, a surprising find by the parent company of two popular affordably-priced restaurant chains in the U.S. has revealed that wallets for those making even more money might be tightening.

That's because, according to Dine Brands, sales during three months this year grew by some 6% to 8% for customers in households making more than $75,000 a year.

It's unclear how Dine Brands CEO John Peyton got that data when he presented it recently.

But he suggested the jump in sales was because "guests that often dine at more expensive restaurants are finding Applebee's and IHOP because of their well-known value position."

As CNN reported, Applebees and IHOP saw sales drop, with customers in households making under $50,000 per year.

Sales overall for both companies have seen slight increases for stores open at least a year.

Both restaurants have increased menu prices this year as the United States deals with staffing shortages in the industry coupled with increased inflation.  

Peyton said, "at times like these when economics are tough for our guests, our brands have particular expertise." 

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer prices rose 5.7% over the past year, the fastest pace in 39 years as a surge in inflation battered Americans as the holiday shopping season was getting under way.

The November increase, reported Thursday by the Commerce Department, followed a 5.1% rise for the 12 months ending in October and kept up a trend of annual price gains running well above the 2% inflation target set by the Federal Reserve. Thursday’s report showed that consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of economic activity, rose 0.6% in November, a solid gain but below the 1.4X% surge in October.

Personal incomes, which provide the fuel for future spending increases, rose 0.4% in November, slightly lower than the 0.5% increase in October.

For teachers and other educators, it has been a bumpy summer full of unknowns.

Used to delivering answers to students, they are now asking questions about what they can expect during the fall semester.

“It’s a lot of uncertainty,” said Jo Pustizzi, a high school teacher in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The one thing Jo and her husband, Jim, who is also a public school teacher in Colorado Springs, can rely on is the source of income they have been generating from their Airbnb.

Seven years ago, the couple converted their cabin in the Rocky Mountains into a place to stay for out-of-towners looking to escape.

“Jo had to really convince me to do an Airbnb, because we had put so much work into the cabin that I didn’t want someone to abuse it,” Jim said.

Jo and Jim are far from the only ones as well. Airbnb says it has seen more teachers turn to the service as a way to supplement their income.

In 2019, Airbnb says teachers raked in $230 million through rentals. About $81 million of that came during the months of June, July and August, when they were not teaching.

It is a big jump from 2017, when teachers brought in $160 million, $54 million coming during the summer months.

“It’s kind of like our own little business, too, so it is fun,” said Jo. "It’s fun just reading reviews or talking to people on the phone.”

It gives the Pustizzis a way to live their lives a little more loosely as they near retirement age and worry about their pensions amid the pandemic.

It also gives them a chance to look back on reviews knowing they did what they do best: share information and experiences.

"People enjoy the same things that we enjoy and it’s cool,” said Jim.

“It feels good knowing other people are feeling good,” added Jo.

For a couple whose profession and passion is in flux, what more could you ask for?

The approaching tax season is raising fresh questions for business owners who received a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program.

Can you deduct expenses paid with your loan funds? Do you need to do anything differently this year? And if your loan is forgiven, is it considered taxable income?

Answers to these questions have been hard to nail down, in part due to shifting guidance from the IRS. But new rules spelled out in the latest round of coronavirus relief help put an end to the confusion.

“Doing your taxes wasn’t easy before COVID,” says Keith Hall, president and CEO of the National Association for the Self-Employed. “The good news is this year isn’t going to be any harder than tax returns you’ve had in the past.”

Forgiven PPP loans are not taxable

“Historically and forever, if you have a business loan and it is forgiven, that automatically is taxable income. It’s been in the internal revenue code forever,” Hall says.

Paycheck Protection Program loans break from that code. Congress specified, and the IRS clarified, that forgiven PPP loans will not count as income. This applies whether your entire loan is forgiven or just a portion.

“If it is forgiven, it will not be taxable income. Period,” Hall says.

You can deduct expenses paid with a PPP loan

This one has been more of a moving target. Initially, the IRS’ position was this: Expenses paid with PPP loan funds can’t be deducted if the loan was or will be forgiven.

However, that changed with the coronavirus relief act signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020, which specifies that deductions shouldn’t be denied simply due to the loan being forgiven.

That means expenses paid with your PPP loan are deductible.

This outcome effectively creates two layers of tax benefits for PPP loan recipients, says Roshani Pandey, financial advisor and founder of True Root Financial in San Francisco.

“The first benefit is making the loan income-tax-free,” Pandey says. “The second is allowing businesses to claim income deductions on expenses paid.”

Business taxes are not an allowable use of PPP funds

The latest round of coronavirus relief also gives business owners more flexibility with how they spend PPP funds. Newly covered costs include protective equipment, property damage and business software.

Business taxes aren’t part of that expanded list. So if you use your PPP loan to pay your business taxes, that amount won’t be forgiven.

You can still claim the Employee Retention Tax Credit

Businesses can now claim the Employee Retention Tax Credit if they meet the requirements. There’s one important caveat: You can’t claim wages paid with a forgiven PPP loan.

You can, however, claim the credit on wages paid above and beyond the amount forgiven.

To qualify for the tax credit, you must continue to pay employees despite being temporarily shut down because of COVID-19 restrictions or suffering a 20% drop in gross receipts compared with the same quarter in the prior year.

These changes were ushered in with the coronavirus relief bill on Dec. 27, 2020, but are retroactive to March 12, 2020. The credit is good on qualified wages paid up to July 1, 2021.

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Kelsey Sheehy writes for NerdWallet. Email: ksheehy@nerdwallet.com.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Small businesses in Ohio have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as the state plans to allow businesses to reopen in the coming days, many businesses are still in desperate need of financial aid.

As a result, today I asked Gov. Mike DeWine if he has any plans to address the insurance industry’s reluctance to pay loss of income and business interruption claims.

Ben Asks a Question is a feature we started as a way to help give you a voice during Gov. Mike DeWine's daily press briefings. Since then, Ben has gotten hundreds of questions a day. If you'd like to ask a question, find us on Facebook and feel free to message us there, or send us an email at newsdesk@wcpo.com.

In his response, DeWine said he’s aware of the issue and he has been in touch with Ohio’s insurance department about it.

“I know that from talking to small businesses, that that has been a real concern,” said DeWine. “That business interruption, some of them felt that they had coverage, they should have had coverage, and they do not have coverage, or at least the insurance company is telling them now that they do not have coverage.

"I’ve asked our insurance department to take a look at that, and I’ll report back what they tell me," he continued. "Again, this is a private contract, but we also want to make sure people are being treated fairly."

DeWine noted that insurance agreements are private contracts, so it’s not clear if the state will have much power in the issue. A number of lawsuits have already been filed in the state against insurers refusing to pay for lost profits.