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Small business owners, including self-employed workers, can complete a new, easy form if they still need a potentially forgivable business loan from the federal government.
The U.S. Small Business Administration on Wednesday released new applications for small businesses seeking money from the Paycheck Protection Program.
The new forms come two weeks after Congress eased repayment terms for the small business relief program, which has a June 30 application deadline.
• The “EZ” application, which requires fewer calculations and supporting documents, can be found here.
• The revised “full” application can be found here.
The two new forms will make it easier for businesses to obtain full loan forgiveness in the program, according to the Small Business Administration.
The Paycheck Protection Program was one part of the $2.2 trillion stimulus bill known as the CARES Act that Congress passed in late March.
It started as a $350 billion fund for businesses faltering from the coronavirus outbreak’s economic consequences.
The Treasury Department said it would forgive the loans under certain conditions. Among other criteria, eligible borrowers needed to use at least 75% of the money on payroll costs and they needed to spend the money in an eight-week window.
When the fund ran out of money — which was sometimes disbursed to large, publicly traded companies — lawmakers added another $484 million.
Earlier this month, lawmakers enacted another law relaxing some of the program’s terms. President Donald Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act on June 5. Borrowers qualifying for loan forgiveness now have 24 weeks, instead of eight, to use the money. They can also use less on payroll and still qualify, going from at least 75% to 60%.
The “EZ version” can be used by loan applicants who are self-employed, according to the Small Business Administration. It can also be used by applicants that didn’t cut worker pay by more than 25% and did not cut hours, the agency noted. Applicants have the choice of using the money in the eight-week period or the extended 24-week period, the agency added.
The Paycheck Protection Program has paid more $500 billion over 4.5 million loans, according to the government.
