Small Businesses Can Get To The Front of the Line For PPP Loans

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is now using the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help the smallest of “small businesses.”  The SBA will:

Establish a 14-day, exclusive PPP loan application period for businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 20 employees

Allow sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals to receive more financial support by revising the PPP’s funding formula for these categories of applicants

Eliminate an exclusionary restriction on PPP access for small business owners with prior non-fraud felony convictions, consistent with a bipartisan congressional proposal

Eliminate PPP access restrictions on small business owners who have struggled to make federal student loan payments by eliminating federal student loan debt delinquency and default as disqualifiers to participating in the PPP; and

Ensure access for non-citizen small business owners who are lawful U.S. residents by clarifying that they may use Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to apply for the PPP.

The 14-day exclusivity period will start on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021 at 9:00 and end on March 9 at 5:00 PM. The other changes will be implemented by the first week of March. The SBA is working on the program changes and will communicate details throughout this week.

Borrowers can apply for the Paycheck Protection Program by downloading the First Draw PPP loan application or Second Draw PPP loan application and working with a participating PPP lender through the SBA Lender Match tool.