Paycheck Protection Program Loans

Updated 4/26/2020
The funding for this program has been replenished as of 4/24. If you have not submitted an application, we recommend you work with a local community bank for better service, as the national banks seem to be overwhelmed.

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During a time when many are not working and increasing numbers of businesses are thinking they may have to lay off employees, a government program for loans to maintain payroll during the current economic crisis is a novel and welcome move. The fact that some of the money borrowed could then be forgiven (depending on what you use the money on, especially if payroll) makes the program even more attractive.

The program is called the Paycheck Protection Program and was part of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill signed into law last week. In fact, $349 billion of that total was set aside for the PPP. If you want to know more about how this works, this article from Fortune gives a very good summary of the details.

Getting one of these loans will involve applying through an institution that already offers SBA loans (starting April 3). The best bet is to contact your current bank and inquire about the program.

Some other issues of note, if you are also planning on using the employee retention tax credit, you cannot do both that and get PPP loan forgiveness. And if you already applied for an EIDL loan, it is not an either-or proposition, you can also apply for a PPP loan and the EIDL is expected to be rolled into if that turns out to make sense for you.

For official information from the Senate on this, click here.