Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource Center

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) established by the CARES Act, is implemented by the Small Business Administration (SBA) with support from the Department of the Treasury. This program provides small businesses with funds to pay up-to-24 weeks of payroll costs including benefits. Funds can also be used to pay for mortgage interest, rent, utilities, worker protection costs related to COVID-19, uninsured property damage costs caused by looting or vandalism during 2020 and certain supplier costs and expenses for operations. The SBA will forgive PPP loans if all employee retention criteria are met, and the funds are used for eligible expenses.

The Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act (Economic Aid Act) signed into law on December 27, 2020 provides $284 billion for new PPP loans, revises certain PPP rules and loan requirements and reopens the program for eligible borrowers that did not apply for a (First Draw) PPP Loan prior to the program’s termination on August 8, 2020. Certain existing PPP borrowers may also reapply if they previously returned all or some of their First Draw PPP Loan or request to modify their loan amount, if they previously did not accept the full amount for which they were eligible. [read more]

The Economic Aid Act also now allows certain eligible borrowers who previously received a First Draw PPP loan in 2020 to apply for a Second Draw PPP Loan with the same general loan terms as their First Draw PPP Loan. [read more]

First Draw PPP Loans

» Top-Line Overview of First Draw PPP (1/8/21)

» How to Calculate Maximum Loan Amounts for First Draw PPP Loans and What Documentation to Provide – By Business Type (1/17/21)

» Borrower Application Form (revised 1/8/21) for First Draw PPP loans

Second Draw PPP Loans

» Top-Line Overview of Second-Draw PPP (1/8/21)

» Second Draw PPP Loans: How to Calculate Revenue Reduction and Maximum Loan Amounts Including What Documentation to Provide (1/19/21)

» Second Draw Borrower Application Form (1/8/21)

Latest Developments

» January 19, 2021 | The SBA posted a new interim final rule on Loan Forgiveness Requirements and Loan Review Procedures as Amended by the Economic Aid Act, consolidating prior rules related to forgiveness and reviews of PPP loans and incorporating changes made by the Economic Aid Act. 

The SBA also posted updated loan forgiveness application and instructions: 

• PPP Loan Forgiveness Application Form 3508 (revised 1/19/21)
• PPP Loan Forgiveness Application Form 3508EZ (revised 1/19/21)
• PPP Loan Forgiveness Application Form 3508S (revised 1/19/21) for borrowers who received a PPP loan of $150,000 or less

The SBA also posted a Borrower’s Disclosure of Certain Controlling Interests form to be used disclosure whether a covered individual directly or indirectly held a controlling interest in a borrower at the time their PPP loan application was submitted to the lender.

» January 15, 2021 | The SBA issued three Procedural Notices this week to their employees and PPP lenders, providing guidance on First Draw PPP Loan increases; Resubmissions of PPP borrower loan forgiveness applications using the updated Form 3508S; and the effects of PPP excess loan amount errors on borrowers and lenders.      

» January 13, 2021 | The SBA will reopen the PPP loan portal to eligible lenders with $1 billion or less in assets for First and Second Draw PPP Loan applications on Friday, January 15, 2021 at 9 am. The portal will fully open on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 to all participating PPP lenders to start submitting First and Second Draw PPP Loan applications to SBA. [read more]

» January 8, 2021 | The SBA and the Treasury Department announced that the PPP will re-open the week of January 11 for new borrowers and certain existing PPP borrowers. To promote access to capital, initially only community financial institutions will be able to make First Draw PPP Loans starting on Monday, January 11 and Second Draw PPP Loans on Wednesday, January 13. The PPP will open to all participating lenders shortly thereafter. [read more]

» January 6, 2021 | The SBA posted a new interim final rule on Second Draw Loans, providing guidance on terms and conditions specific to Second Draw PPP Loans, including eligibility requirements and the application process. [read more]

» January 6, 2021 | The SBA posted a new interim final rule on the Paycheck Protection Program as Amended by the Economic Aid Act, incorporating the revisions made to certain PPP requirements by the Economic Aid Act, and consolidating the interim final rules (and important guidance) issued to date governing the PPP. [read more]

The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Relief Act of 2020 (Taxpayer Certainty Act) extends the employee retention tax credit (ERTC) through June 30, 2021 and expands various provisions of the credit. 

Under the CARES Act, the ERTC was 50% of the first $10,000 in qualified wages paid per employee for all of 2020 (capped at $5,000 per employee). Starting Jan. 1, 2021, the ERTC will be 70% of $10,000 of the first  wages paid per employee per quarter (capped at $14,000 per employee through June 30th).  

The Taxpayer Certainty Act also expands which employers are eligible. Under the CARES Act, the ERTC applied only to an employer who experienced a significant decline in gross receipts of more than 50% in a quarter in 2020 compared to the same quarter in 2019. Starting Jan. 1, 2021, eligibility is now expanded to include employers who experienced a decline in gross receipts 20% or more. 

In addition, the employee threshold to claim the ERTC has been raised to 500 employees from 100 employees. Now, employers with 500 or fewer employees can claim the credit for qualified wages paid to employees irrespective of whether the employee is providing services.  

The Taxpayer Certainty Act also retroactively allows eligible employers who received a PPP loan to now claim the ERTC as well, for qualified wages that were not paid with forgiven PPP loans. 

Read our -NEW- blog post discussing all the details of the Employee Retention Tax Credit that can be claimed in 2020 and 2021. [read more]

The Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act provides $20 billion to reopen the $10,000 EIDL Grant program. The Targeted EIDL Advance provides businesses located in low-income communities with additional funds to ensure small business continuity, adaptation, and resiliency.

Eligibility:

Businesses with no more than 300 employees, that are located in low-income communities and who have experienced a 30% reduction in gross receipts during any 8-week period between March 2 and December 31, 2020, compared to a comparable 8-week period before March 2 will be able to apply for a $10,000 EIDL grant on the SBA website. 

Advance funds of up to $10,000 will be available to applicants located in low-income communities who previously received an EIDL Advance for less than $10,000, or those who applied but received no funds due to lack of available program funding.

More information on the Targeted EIDL Advance grant for qualifying small business is available here on the SBA.gov website. 

The Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act authorizes $15 billion for the SBA to make grants to eligible live venue operators or promoters, theatrical producers, live performing arts organization operators, museum operators, motion picture theatre operators or talent representatives who demonstrate a 25% reduction in revenue in any quarter of 2020 compared the same quarter in 2019.

Application and additional guidelines will be posted when available.

More information on the Shuttered Venue Operator Grant for qualifying small business is available here on the SBA.gov website. 

The Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act provides $3.5 billion to resume the government payment of monthly principal and interest on small business loans guaranteed by the SBA under the 7(a), 504, and Microloan programs.

Borrowers with loans approved by the SBA prior to the enactment of the CARES Act will receive an additional three months of payments starting in February 2021. Going forward, those payments will be capped at $9,000 per borrower per month.  

After the three-month period described above, certain borrowers considered to be underserved, will receive an additional five months of payments. This includes small borrowers with SBA microloans or 7(a) Community Advantage loans or borrowers with any 7(a) or 504 loan in the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic: educational services; arts, entertainment and recreation; food service and accommodation; support activities for mining, and oil and gas extraction; apparel manufacturing; clothing and clothing accessories stores; sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores; air transportation; transit and ground passenger transportation; scenic and sightseeing transportation; publishing industries; motion picture and sound recording; broadcasting; rental and leasing services; and personal and laundry services. 

New SBA loans made or approved between December 22, 2020 and September 30, 2021 will receive six months of government payment of principal and interest, also capped at $9,000 per month. The SBA works with lenders to provide 7(a), 504 and Microloans loans to small businesses – it sets the guidelines for loans made by its partnering lenders, community development organizations, and micro-lending institutions, while reducing risks for lenders and making it easier for them to make loans to small businesses. 

More information on SBA Debt Relief for small business during the COVID-19 pandemic is available here on the SBA.gov website. 

Generally, U.S. citizens and resident aliens who are not eligible to be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s income tax return are eligible for a second Economic Impact Payment. Eligible individuals will automatically receive an Economic Impact Payment of up to $600 for individuals or $1,200 for married couples and up to $600 for each qualifying child. Most people who have an adjusted gross income for 2019 of up to $75,000 for individuals and up to $150,000 for married couples filing joint returns, will receive the full amount of the second payment. For filers with income above those amounts, the payment amount will be reduced. If you don’t get the full amount of the Economic Impact Payments, you may be eligible for a Recovery Rebate Credit.

The IRS emphasizes that there is no action required by eligible individuals to receive this second payment. Some Americans may see the direct deposit payments as pending or as provisional payments in their accounts before the official payment date of January 4, 2021. The IRS reminds taxpayers that the payments are automatic, and they should not contact their financial institutions or the IRS with payment timing questions.

To check the status of both your first and second Economic Impact Payment, use the Get My Payment tool, available in English and Spanish on the IRS.gov website.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 signed into law by President Trump on December 27, 2020, included the Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act of 2020, which extends the unemployment assistance programs created by the CARES Act, including Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) payments of $300 per week for an additional eleven weeks, to March 14, 2021. 

Click here for more information on our website about COVID-19 unemployment assistance programs extended by the new law. 

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 signed into law by President Trump on December 27, 2020, includes both the COVID-Related Tax Relief Act of 2020 and the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Relief Act of 2020 which provide a number of new tax provisions, as well as extensions of certain CARES Act tax provisions and other temporary and permanent tax extensions. [read more]