Paycheck Protection Program Forgiveness 

 August 2021

When the pandemic was first in full swing in March and April of last year the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) started a program as part of the Cares Act, the paycheck protection program (PPP), to help small business during the lockdowns. The PPP allowed for the SBA, as well as and private lenders to help suffering small businesses during the hardest months of the pandemic by allowing them to apply for emergency aid.

Over the course of the PPP the SBA and lenders were able to aid over 8.5 million small businesses with loans totaling nearly $800 billion in relief. The businesses who had received money from the PPP are eligible for loan forgiveness. Businesses are eligible for full loan forgiveness if during the 8-to-24-week cover period following the loan disbursement, A) employee and compensation levels are maintained, B) the loan proceeds are spent on payroll costs and other eligible expenses, and C) at least 60% of the proceeds are spent on payroll costs.

The SBA announced that they are allowing businesses to apply for direct forgiveness from them through an online portal instead of going through their SBA affiliated lenders. The portal is up on the SBA’s website. Along with the portal, borrowers will have access to a PPP customer service team to help with any questions and with the forgiveness applications at (877) 552-2692, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST.