President Biden has signed the PPP Extension Act of 2021. The new law extends the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application filing deadline from March 31, 2021 to May 31, 2021. The new law gives qualifying businesses and individuals more time to apply for a PPP loan.
While this new law does not increase the amount of funding available for PPP loans, Congress did authorize $7.25 billion in additional PPP funding under the recent American Rescue Plan Act.
Prior to the passage of The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 on March 11, 2021 (the “Rescue Act”) the employee retention credit, as amended by the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (the “Relief Act”), was set to expire for wages paid after June 30, 2021. The Rescue Act extends the employee retention credit to qualifying wages paid through December 31, 2021. Consequently, qualifying employers may be eligible to claim an additional $14,000 of credits per employee in 2021.
A summary of the employee retention credit as amended by the Relief Act is available here.
The second PPP loan program is due to expire March 31, 2021. Many eligible businesses have still not applied. President Biden announced changes to the program on February 22, 2021 making it easier to qualify for a PPP loan now, and particularly for sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals.
The PPP loan program still has funds available. Congress could also extend the March 31, 2021 termination date for loan applications. However, Congressional extension is not certain, and qualifying individuals and businesses should consider applying for a PPP ...
The US Department of Justice announced the first civil settlement involving allegations of fraud against a PPP borrower.
SlideBelts Inc. received a PPP loan under the CARES Act. SlideBelts is an internet retail company and debtor in bankruptcy. SlideBelts and its president/CEO agreed to resolve the allegations in connection with the PPP loan by paying the government damages and penalties of $100,000. SlideBelts had already repaid the $350,000 PPP loan it had received.
The announced civil settlement resolves claims that the conduct of SlideBelts and its president/CEO violated ...
A United States District Judge in Washington has ordered the SBA to now release the names and other information of all Paycheck Protection Loan borrowers. In WP Company LLC d/b/a The Washington Post, et al., v. U.S. Small Business Administration, Civil Action No. 20-1240 (JEB) and a related case, Center for Public Integrity v. U.S. Small Business Administration, Civil Action No. 20-1614 (JEB), United States District Judge James E. Boesberg issued a November 5, 2020 order requiring the SBA to release the names and other information for all PPP loan borrowers. Under the order, the SBA ...
On October 31, 2020, the SBA released new forms and related instructions requiring borrowers with PPP loans of $2 million or more to provide additional information related to their PPP loans. Titled “Loan Necessity Questionnaire”, the SBA released separate forms and instructions applicable to both for-profit and non-profit borrowers. The SBA explains that “the purpose of this form is to facilitate the collection of supplemental information that will be used by SBA loan reviewers to evaluate the good-faith certification that you made on your PPP Borrower Application.”
The Paycheck Protection Program under the CARES Act ended June 30, 2020, and with over $520 billion loaned to nearly 4.9 million self-employed individuals and businesses. The PPP was hastily passed by Congress and inconsistently-interpreted by government agencies. Over $125 billion remained available under the PPP, but because of the often complex and uncertain conditions for receiving loans under the program no one was interested in receiving these remaining funds - even where they could have been forgiven.
With the US economy still struggling, Congress has now rushed to pass an ...
Banks have loaned over $500 billion in PPP loans under the CARES Act, and to over 4.6 million businesses and self-employed individuals. These PPP loans are critical for these businesses and individuals – and their employees – to survive the economic devastation wrought by the COVID-10 pandemic.
PPP loans are administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and the SBA has issued a steady stream of administrative guidance concerning its interpretation of the Payroll Protection Program. Some of this SBA guidance is based on the agency’s interpretation of the ...
One of the key benefits of a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan is the ability to have all or a portion of the loan forgiven. The amount of a PPP loan that will be forgiven is based initially on the qualifying costs an employer incurs during the 8 week period following loan funding (at least 75% of which must be used for payroll costs to qualify for 100% loan forgiveness). The initial forgiveness amount is then subject to reduction under a headcount test and a salary test. The headcount test and salary test reductions, however, do not apply in certain instances when headcount and salary are ...