This week, President Joe Biden announced changes to the Paycheck Protection Program that will ensure these small businesses have access to necessary funding to weather the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The changes will be:
• Open the program to sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals;
• Remove barriers to noncitizen small business owners applying for funds;
• End restrictions on PPP access for small business owners with prior non-fraud felony convictions;
• Eliminate restrictions on small business owners struggling to make student loan payments; and
• Create a special two-week period in which only businesses with fewer than 20 employees can apply for relief.
The special two-week period for small businesses with fewer than 20 employees to apply for Paycheck Protection Program loans opens on Wednesday, February 24 at 9:00 a.m. ET and will continue through Wednesday, March 10. The other four changes will be implemented by the first week of March.
Click here to begin a Paycheck Protection Program loan application.
The 14-day special period is designed to give lenders more time with small businesses to successfully submit their applications. Larger businesses will still have plenty of time to submit their applications before the PPP program expires on March 31, 2021.