Paycheck Protection Loans
Program update
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ended on May 31, 2021. Existing borrowers may be eligible for PPP loan forgiveness.
The Coronavirus Phase III Response Legislation passed on March 27, 2020, created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which allows for $350 billion for 100% federally guaranteed, zero-fee loans, up to $10 million, to small businesses to maintain up to 24 weeks of existing workforce and help pay for other expenses like rent, mortgage, and utilities. On April 24, an additional $321 billion in funding was approved. Payroll costs are capped at $100,000 on an annualized basis for each employee. Dec. 21, 2020, brought further relief with the passage of $284.5 billion in additional funding for the PPP. An additional $7.25 billion were allocated to the program on March 10, 2021 through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Eligibility and application details
See summaries of the original program requirements below.
First-time PPP borrowers
To qualify for a loan, a derm practice must:
Have fewer than 500 employees.
Was in operations on February 15, 2020.
First-time application instructions:
Guidance (PDF)
Second-time PPP borrowers
To qualify for a loan, a derm practice must:
Have fewer than 300 employees.
Prove that the practice has at least 25% reduction in revenues in at least one quarter in 2020 when compared to 2019 quarters.
Second-time application instructions:
When applying for a new or second loan, PPP applicants must submit documentation sufficient to establish eligibility and to demonstrate the qualifying payroll amount, including payroll records, payroll tax filings, Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income; Form 1040, Schedule C, Profit or Loss From Business, income and expenses from a sole proprietorship. or bank records.
A small business that employs less than 500 employees who reside in the US; or
A business that meets the SBA employee-based or revenue-based size standard corresponding to its primary industry (visit www.sba.gov/size for standards); or
A business that meets both tests in the SBA’s “alternative size standard” as of March 27, 2020: (1) maximum tangible net worth of the business is not more than $15 million; and (2) the average net income after Federal income taxes (excluding any carry-over losses) of the business for the two full fiscal years before the date of the application is not more than $5 million.
The Dec. 21 relief bill allows small businesses of fewer than 300 employees who had a revenue loss of 25% to apply for a second loan up to the maximum of $2 million.
Note, entities not in operation on or after February 15, 2020 are not eligible for initial PPP loans nor second draw loans.
The March 10, 2021 legislation expanded eligibility to include more non-profits and digital media companies.
How should I calculate number of employees and payroll costs for a maximum loan?
In general, calculate the aggregate payroll costs using data either from the previous 12 months or from the calendar year 2019. Note, payroll costs are not reduced by federal taxes imposed or withheld from employee, but employer-side federal payroll tax imposed on wages are excluded from payroll costs under the statute.
You can use the same time period noted above to determine number of employees or use the SBA’s calculation as found on their web site.
When can I apply?
Applications for the additional relief announced on Dec. 22, 2020 would begin being accepted on Jan. 15, 2021. Dermatologists could begin applying for the original set of loans on April 3, 2020.
Where do I apply?
Visit your local FDIC approved bank, credit union, or Small Business Administration (SBA) lender and fill out an application for paycheck protection. You will need to provide payroll documentation. If you are interested in applying through an SBA lender, find one in your state.
When is the deadline to apply?
With the PPP Extension Act of 2021, applicants now have until May 31, 2021 (the deadline before was March 31, 2021) to apply for the new round of funding made available on Dec. 22, 2020. The previous round of funding closed on August 8, 2020.
What can I include in my loan?
Payroll costs include:
Salary, wages, commissions, or tips (capped at $100,000* on an annualized basis for each employee);
* The exclusion of compensation in excess of $100,000 annually applies only to cash compensation, not to non-cash benefits including employer contributions to retirement plans, payment for employee benefits including insurance premiums, and payment of state and local taxes.
Employee benefits including costs for vacation, parental, family, medical, or sick leave (excluding qualified sick and family leave wages allowed under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act); allowance for separation or dismissal; payments required for the provisions of group health care benefits including insurance premiums; and payment of any retirement benefit;
State and local taxes assessed on compensation; and
For a sole proprietor or independent contractor: wages, commissions, income, or net earnings from self-employment, capped at $100,000 on an annualized basis for each employee.
Interest on mortgage obligations, incurred before Feb. 15, 2020;
Rent, under lease agreements in force before Feb. 15, 2020;
Utilities, for which service began before Feb. 15, 2020;
Supplier costs, investments in facility modifications, and personal protective equipment (PPE) that businesses require to operate safely;
Back-office functions (billing functions, accounting or supply tracking inventory, records and expenses);
Business software and cloud computing services that help facilitate business operations; and
Insurance payments (for group life, disability, vision and dental insurance benefits within payroll costs), covered worker protection and facility modification expenditures, covered property damage costs (vandalism or looting due to public disturbances that occurred during 2020).
Note, borrowers, for full loan forgiveness purposes, must spend no less than 60% of the funds on payroll over a covered period of their choice between eight and 24 weeks, with the remaining 40% expensed for non-payroll overhead.
For additional guidance, see this Fact Sheet.
What is the maximum amount I can receive in my loan?
Loans can be for up to two months of your average monthly payroll costs from the last year plus an additional 25% of that amount, and the total amount was capped at $10 million. On Dec. 21, 2020 Congress allowed business, as small as fewer than 300 employees, that lost 25% revenue to apply for a second loan of up to $2 million.
Note, employers who receive PPP loans may still qualify for the employee retention tax credit with respect to wages that are not paid for with forgiven PPP proceeds.
How do I apply for my loan to be forgiven?
A borrower must apply for loan forgiveness through the lender that processed the original loan.
There are two forms (along with their corresponding instructions) available for borrowers to use when filing a PPP forgiveness request with their lender. Both applications give borrowers the option of using the original 8-weeks covered period (if the loan was made before June 5, 2020) or an extended 24-weeks covered period. Borrowers using either forgiveness application form will be required to disclose the number of employees at the time of the forgiveness application. Contact your lender to help choose the appropriate form that best meets your practice situation and review the guidance and instructions details when preparing your forgiveness request:
Due to the detailed nature of the application and related documentation needed, it is best to work closely with your lender or an accountant to maximize chances of approval.
Visit SBA.gov for additional guidance.
What is the covered period for the loan forgiveness?
When applying for forgiveness, borrowers had the choice of covered period options—either the original 8-weeks (if their loan was made before June 5, 2020) or the extended 24-week covered period.
Calculating 8 weeks vs. 24 weeks
Your “loan forgiveness covered period” (168 days) is the 24-week period beginning on the date your PPP loan is disbursed; however, if your PPP loan was made before June 5, 2020, you may elect to have your loan forgiveness covered period be the eight-week period (56 days) beginning on the date your PPP loan was disbursed.
Covered periods: original 8-weeks vs. extended 24 weeks. June 5 is an important date marker for PPP borrower as it affects several aspects of the borrower’s loan:
Before June 5: For loans issued prior to June 5, 2020, a borrower can choose either the original eight-week covered period for purposes of forgiveness, or a 24-week period beginning on the date loan proceeds are received.
After June 5: For loans made after June 5, 2020, businesses will have 24-weeks from receipt of the loan in which to spend the proceeds to qualify for loan forgiveness.
Alternative Payroll Covered Period: This is for calculating and paying for payroll costs only. While the instructions define and detail this term, the key point is that because of timing variation between counting loan disbursement date vs. a business’s payroll cycle, not all borrowers’ payroll periods match up perfectly with the date when they receive their PPP funds. Under the Alternative Payroll Covered Period, the borrower can spend PPP funds and still qualify for full forgiveness. If you decide to use this, remember to report that whenever the application references covered period or the alternative payroll covered period; however, if the application states the covered period only, make sure you use that period.
What is the eligible amount for forgiveness?
All of the loan will be forgiven as long as you use it for payroll, mortgage interest, rent, and utilities over the 24-week time period that the loan is given. You will be required to pay back the loan if you do not maintain your staff and payroll or decrease salaries and wages by more than 25% for any employee that made less than $100,000 annualized in 2019. You had until December 31, 2020 to restore your staff levels for any changes made between February 15, 2020 and April 26, 2020. If you meet the following criteria for any employees, that portion of the loan can also be forgiven:
unable to rehire an individual who was an employee on or before February 15, 2020;
able to demonstrate an inability to hire similarly qualified employees on or before December 31, 2020; or
able to demonstrate an inability to return to the same level of business activity as such business was operating at prior to February 15, 2020.
The requirements for how to “demonstrate an inability” are not yet clear.
To maximize chances of receiving a full PPP loan forgiveness, the borrower must meet the prescribed cost ratio rule:
At least 60% of the loan amount is to cover payroll costs, including your own.
At most, the remaining 25% should be allocated to cover other permitted operating costs, including rent, utilities, health insurance, etc. Any money spent on non-qualifying expenses must be repaid after six months at an annual rate of 1% within two years.
As a result of the December 2020 COVID-related Tax Relief Act of 2020, dermatologists who received PPP loans avoided having their loan proceeds included as taxable income. In practical terms this means that expenses paid through a PPP loan that is forgiven are now tax-deductible. This tax deduction benefit reverses previous IRS and Department of the Treasury guidance that prohibited such expense deductions covered by a PPP loan. PPP borrowers are advised to consult with their accountants to determine their specific tax relief benefits. View the notice.
The amount of loan forgiveness is captured and detailed in the forms and instructions. Forgivable amount can be up to the full principal amount of the loan plus accrued interest. The actual amount of loan forgiveness will depend, in part, on the total amount spent over the covered period beginning on the date your PPP loan is disbursed.
Calculating covered periods
If your PPP loan was made before June 5, 2020, you may elect to have your covered period be the eight-week period beginning on the date your PPP loan was disbursed. In addition, under section 3(b)(1) of the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (Flexibility Act), the covered period of any borrower ended December 31, 2020.
The amount of loan forgiveness is capped by the full principal amount of the loan plus accrued interest. Note the following:
Individual salary cap increased for employees’ salaries from $15,385 during the 8-week covered period to $46,154 during the 24-week covered period.
Owner compensation increased from $15,835 during the 8-week covered period, to $20,833 for a 24-week covered period.
You may request partial forgiveness if you spent less than 60% of the loan funds on payroll costs. If less than 60% of the loan proceeds are spent on payroll costs, the forgiven amount will be reduced accordingly. In addition, the interest on PPP loans can now be deferred until the amount of loan forgiveness is determined.
What is the deadline for requesting forgiveness?
Borrowers must file their forgiveness request with their lender within 10 months after the end of their loan’s covered period. If so, the borrower will not have to make any payments of principal or interest on their loan before the date on which SBA remits to the lender the loan forgiveness amount on the loan (or notifies the lender that no loan forgiveness is allowed). If the borrower does not submit a loan forgiveness application to its lender by Oct. 10, 2021, the borrower must begin making payments on or after Oct. 10, 2021.
How long will it take to get a determination of approval?
The forgiveness approval processes follows this timetable:
60 days: After receiving application (submission date), the lender has 60 days to review forgiveness request and determine if all/any portion of the loan is eligible for forgiveness.
90 days: After that, the lender must submit its determination to the SBA, which in turn, has 90 days to review the loan and remit the eligible forgiveness value (full or partial forgiveness amount) to the lender.
SBA will use the 90-day period to help ensure that applicable legal requirements (to prevent fraud or misuse of PPP funds) have been satisfied.
The lender will then notify the borrower of the final decision.
Can I appeal the lender’s decision if not approved?
The borrower has the right to appeal the lender’s decision for the full or partial PPP forgiveness amount. The AAD has created a roadmap to help understand the forgiveness and appeal process (PDF).
If my loan is not forgiven, how will it mature and what interest will I be charged?
Loan maturity will be triggered by the end of the covered period and depends on when/whether the loan was forgiven in full or in part:
Loans issued on or after June 5, 2020, mature in five years.
Loans issued before June 5, 2020, will continue to have a two-year maturity period for any portion of the loan not forgiven. Borrowers with a two-year term may seek to negotiate with their lender to extend the period to five years, subject to the lender’s discretion.
Borrowers can ask for an extension of the maturity date and lenders have the discretion to review each request for a loan modification on a case-by-case basis.
Interest will be at 1.0% fixed and all payments are deferred for 6 months; however, interest will continue to accrue over this time period.
Keep in mind SBA will disclose the business names, addresses, NAICS codes, zip codes, business type, demographic data, non-profit information, jobs supported, and loan amounts from $150,000 up to $10 million. These account for nearly 75% of the loan dollars approved. For loans below $150,000, totals will be released, aggregated by zip code, by industry, by business type, and by various demographic categories.
For PPP data disclosed to date, including total dollars approved, loan sizes, lender sizes and types, loans approved by state, top lenders, loans by industry sector, and funds remaining, access the June 12 SBA PPP Report (PDF).
Review FAQs from the U.S. Treasury (PDF). Additionally, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has created a guide to PPP loan forgiveness (PDF). It details the steps dermatologists should take to seek forgiveness for their PPP loans.
Additional COVID-19 business management resource
All content solely developed by the American Academy of Dermatology
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