Get Forgiven PPP Loan Faster With This New Portal
This week, the US Small Business Association launched a portal designed to accelerate loan forgiveness for small business owners who borrowed $ 150,000 or less under the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) during the pandemic. If you are a business owner who spent 60% of a payroll loan, you are probably eligible. Here’s what you need to know.
Which businesses are eligible for PPP loan forgiveness?
Under the CARES Act, the $ 953 billion Payroll Protection Program provided loans to small businesses on generous terms: if your business spent 60% of the loan on eligible payroll expenses and no more than 40% on eligible non-wage expenses, the loan can be forgiven (more information on the right to forgiveness of a PPP loan can be found here ).
The portal can process these claims in less than 72 hours.
The portal was created to address the problem of a surplus of loan forgiveness applications from small business owners, the vast majority of whom have loans of less than $ 150,000. Since many borrowers have complained that the process is too complicated and time-consuming, the portal is intended to be a one-stop-shop for speeding up the forgiveness process to less than 90 days, and in some cases, less than 72 hours .
Instead of paperwork, if you’re a second borrower with loans up to $ 150,000, you can use the COVID Health Assessment Portal, an automated process that verifies your company’s earnings using public and proprietary data from sources such as attendance and business. business expenses, according to Inc.com . If your grievance gets flagged by this automated process, you need to upload documentation proving that your business lost 25% of revenue in 2020 compared to 2019.
However, there is one catch with the portal. Although the Small Business Administration (SBA) works on behalf of banks to process these claims, many of the larger banks have opted out of the portal as they prefer to process loans directly, according to the New York Times . If you cannot find your lender on the portal, you will have to apply directly through it. Your lender should be able to provide guidance on how to complete Form 3508 SBA, Form 3508EZ SBA, Form 3508S SBA, or its equivalent.
How to apply for loan forgiveness through the portal
You can access the portal here and there is a user manual on how to use it here . You can also call (877) 552-2692 or visit www.sba.gov/relief for more information.