Starting Wednesday, February 24, only businesses with under 20 employees will be able to apply for Paycheck Protection Program funding for two weeks. The exclusive window for smaller businesses is designed to ensure that the smallest businesses and those owned by people of color will be prioritized by lenders, the Biden Administration announced.
About $150 billion is left in the PPP from the amount that was allocated by the coronavirus relief package passed in December 2020. For businesses with more than 20 employees, time is short to apply for a Second Draw PPP loan.
The application period for Second Draw PPP loans is currently set to end on March 31, 2021, so there will be about three weeks left for small businesses with more than 20 employees to apply when the window opens again.
New rules released in February made it easier to apply for and receive forgiveness for PPP funding, and the coronavirus stimulus package passed in December made it possible for businesses to receive both PPP funding and the Employee Retention Credit.
It was also announced that businesses without employees – sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals – will also be eligible for relief as a result of new PPP rules and a new system for calculating loan amounts. Previously, many such individuals were ineligible for funding or were only eligible for a minuscule amount of relief because of the way the amounts were calculated.
If you have questions about your eligibility for new PPP funding or loan forgiveness, reach out to us at info@sbfcpa.com.