Small Businesses Have Until June 30 To Apply For Paycheck Protection Program Loans; $130 Billion Still Available
CHICAGO (CBS) -- With $130 billion in loans still available for small businesses through the federal Paycheck Protection Program, city officials on Friday reminded business owners they have until June 30 to apply for aid.
The Small Business Administration still has $130 billion left in the PPP fund, which was created to provide forgivable loans to help small businesses survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
Any small business that has yet to apply for a PPP loan has until June 30 to do so.
The loans will only be forgiven if businesses keep the same number of people on the payroll as before the pandemic, and spend 60% of the money on their employees within 24 weeks of receiving the money.
Businesses can fill out an application and take it to their bank, which will send it to the SBA. If your bank can't help, you can find a PPP lender on the SBA website, or review a list of PPP lenders in each state.
In Chicago, several local chambers of help also are offering to help small businesses with questions about the application process. The city has compiled a list of Neighborhood Business Development Centers here. The SBA also has a list of frequently asked questions to help borrowers and lenders through the application process.
The SBA recently made several changes to PPP loans to make it easier for the loans to be forgiven:
- The amount of the loan that must be spent on payroll was reduced from 75% to 60%.
- The time to repay any portion of the loan that was not forgiven was extended from 2 years to 5 years.
- The time to use all of the funds from PPP was extended from 8 to 24 weeks after the day funding was received.
- Businesses that receive PPP funding will be given until December 21, 2020, to rehire employees in order for their salaries to count toward loan forgiveness.
