SBA moving small businesses (fewer than 20 workers) to front of PPP line

By
ROI-NJ Staff
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If you’re a small business (fewer than 20 employees) and you’re still waiting to hear on your Paycheck Protection Program application, you appear to be in luck.

On Monday, the White House announced it is taking a number of steps to increase lending to the smallest of businesses.

The reforms, some of which will begin Wednesday, include:

  • Exclusive period: At 9 a.m. Wednesday, the SBA will begin a 14-day exclusive PPP loan application period for businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 20 employees. All applications already submitted by lenders to the SBA before the start of the exclusivity period will still be processed by the SBA.
  • Help for sole proprietors: A revision of the PPP funding formula for sole proprietors, independent contractors and self-employed individuals will allow them to use the gross income line on Schedule C. The SBA is also setting aside $1 billion for those businesses without employees in low-to-moderate income communities. The White House said these businesses make up a significant majority of all businesses and include cleaning services, home repair contractors, personal care businesses and small independent retailers, among other examples. And approximately 70% of non-employer firms are owned by women and people of color, compared to 40% of employer firms. In addition, 95% of Black-owned firms and 91% of Latinx-owned firms are non-employers.
  • Fairer access: The White House is promising fairer access for returning citizens by eliminating the PPP eligibility restriction that did not allow those with a felony within the previous year to apply (however, the restriction on those with an arrest or felony conviction related to financial assistance fraud within the previous five years remains).
  • Increased access: The SBA will now allow those who have struggled to make and are now delinquent on federal student loan payments to apply for the PPP. It also will ensure access for immigrant small business owners who lawfully reside and pay taxes in the U.S. by clarifying that Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN, holders can apply for the PPP.

Here are the latest numbers for New Jersey.

  • Loans: 50,451;
  • Total funding: $4,399,596,313;
  • Average loan: $87,205.