On Monday, February 22, President Biden announced changes to processing PPP applications.

Most significantly, starting Wednesday February 24, 2021, SBA will only allow businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 20 employees to apply for PPP loans for the following two weeks. This change is to help smaller businesses apply and receive funds as available PPP funds are starting to dwindle.

If you have 20 or more employees and have not yet applied for PPP round 1 or round 2, you should do so immediately. If you do not, you will have a two week wait until you can apply again if there are remaining funds.

The SBA also announced four additional changes to the program:

• 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;
• Eliminate an exclusionary restriction on PPP access for small business owners with prior non-fraud felony convictions, consistent with a bipartisan congressional proposal; 
• 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
• 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.

Should you have any questions, we encourage you to contact your YHB team member today.

About the Author

Nick’s expertise includes helping high wealth individual and large business entities with complex tax compliance, along with specializing in international, non-for-profit tax issues, and tax ethics issues. He has used his tax expertise not only to serve his clients, but also his peers. He has authored publications for the AICPA’s Journal of Accountancy, AICPA’s Tax Advisor, NATP’s Tax Pro Journal, and CCH’s Journal of Tax Practice and Procedure and co-authored a textbook, Tax Preparer Penalties and Circular 230 Enforcement, published by Thomas Reuters. He has also lectured nationally on topics such as ethics, complex tax transactions, and IRS practice and procedure.