Increased Flexibility for PPP Recipients, June 18, 2020

PPP loan forgiveness is determined based on how the small business client spent the loan proceeds. Under the PPPFA, at least 60 percent of the loan must be used for payroll costs (this 60 percent threshold was reduced from 75 percent under the CARES Act). The PPPFA extended the eight-week period to twenty-four weeks from the date the lender made the first loan payment to the small business owner. Unless Congress acts again, the funds must all be spent by December 31, 2020 in order to be eligible for forgiveness. The amount forgiven can also be reduced if the employer made certain staffing cuts or cut employee compensation levels. The PPPFA gives employers until December 31, 2020 to bring workers back to work/restore wage levels and continue to qualify for loan forgiveness (extended from prior law, which set the deadline at June 30).