- Date published
The U.S. Small Business Administration has released new information about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in an effort to reach low and moderate-income, rural, urban, and other underserved areas.
On Wednesday, February 24, 2021, SBA will establish a 14-day, exclusive PPP loan application period for businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 20 employees. This will give lenders and community partners more time to work with the smallest businesses to submit their applications, while also ensuring that larger PPP-eligible businesses will still have plenty of time to apply for and receive support before the program expires on March 31, 2021.
The SBA also announced four additional changes to open the PPP to more underserved small businesses than ever before.
1. Allow sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals to receive more financial support by revising the PPP’s funding formula for these categories of applicants;
2. Eliminate an exclusionary restriction on PPP access for small business owners with prior non-fraud felony convictions, consistent with a bipartisan congressional proposal;
3. Eliminate PPP access restrictions on small business owners who have struggled to make student loan payments by eliminating student loan debt delinquency as a disqualifier to participating in the PPP; and
4. Ensure access for non-citizen small business owners who are lawful U.S. residents by clarifying that they may use Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to apply for the PPP.
If you have questions regarding the Paycheck Protection Program book a meeting with our team at the Missouri SBDC at Missouri State University.
Click here for more information from the SBA on this announcement. Learn more about small business disaster relief programs from the SBA.
