Skip to content

SBA Issues PPP Forgiveness Application and New Interim Rule on Eligibility

May 18, 2020

The application for forgiveness of loans made under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was released by the Small Business Administration (SBA) late May 15, 2020. Businesses that received loans under the program may now access the application to calculate how much of their loan may be forgiven.

The application also provides further guidance and clarification on forgiveness.

Among the noteworthy information included, the application provides:

  • Flexibility to select a slightly different eight-week period for purposes of calculating payroll costs. This is called the Alternative Payroll Covered Period. If selected, this Alternative Payroll Covered Period must be used consistently for payroll and FTE issues.
  • Flexibility to include costs actually paid during the applicable covered period OR incurred during the applicable covered period and paid on or before the next due date.
  • Clarification on how to calculate FTEs from full-time and part-time employees.
  • Allow exceptions to FTE reductions based on employees that refused to come back to work, were fired for cause, voluntarily resigned or voluntarily requested and received a reduction of their hours.

Also, the SBA issued an interim rule on May 18 clarifying that for purposes of determining eligibility for the PPP, a company must include employees of all U.S. and foreign affiliates. There had been confusion as to whether a company could be eligible if it had no more than 500 employees whose principal place of residence is in the U.S., regardless of the employees of its foreign affiliates. However, the SBA also stated that it would not find any borrower that applied for a PPP loan prior to May 5, 2020 to be ineligible based on the company’s exclusion of non-U.S. employees from the company’s calculation if the company (together with its affiliates) had no more than 500 employees whose principal place of residence is in the U.S. The SBA concluded the rule by prohibiting the use of PPP loan proceeds to support non-U.S. workers or operations. 

Additional PPP Advisories

SBA Issues Final Rules for PPP Loan Forgiveness and Loan Review Procedures
Public Finance Advisory, May 27, 2020

SBA Issues New Guidance on Certification Relating to PPP Necessity
Public Finance Advisory, April 23, 2020

SBA Issues Interim Rules on and Final Application for the $349 Billion Paycheck Protection Program
Public Finance Advisory, April 3, 2020

Paycheck Protection Program, a SBA Loan Program Expanded in CARES ACT
Public Finance Advisory, March 27, 2020

Sign up to be the first to access our leading legal insights.

The link you have selected will redirect you to a third-party website located on another server. We are offering the link for your convenience. Varnum has no responsibility for any external websites and makes no express or implied warranties about any external websites.

Please be aware that contacting us via e-mail does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and the firm. Do not send confidential information to the firm until you have spoken with one of our attorneys and receive authorization to send such materials.