Main Street Monday — Key Provisions in the New Economic Recovery Act

December 28, 2020

Caity Roach
Editor

Main Street Monday — Key Provisions in the New Economic Recovery Act

Sunday night the President signed the $900 billion coronavirus economic aid bill which passed in both the House of Representatives (359-53) and the Senate (92-6) on December 21, 2020. The legislation, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, includes over $300 billion in coronavirus aid for small businesses as well as a $1.4 trillion resolution to fund the government through September 2021.

Key provisions from the legislation include:

  • $284 billion for another round of forgivable PPP loans.

  • PPP borrowers who already received a loan may obtain a second draw if they have 300 or fewer employees, have used or will use the full amount of their first PPP loan, and can show a 25% gross revenue decline in any 2020 quarter compared with the same quarter in 2019.

  • First time PPP borrowers may obtain a PPP loan under the original terms in the CARES Act.

  • 60% of PPP loans must be used to cover payroll.

  • One-page borrower certification for  PPP loans less than $150,000. The SBA must create the simplified application form within 24 days of the bill’s enactment and may not require additional materials unless necessary to substantiate revenue loss requirements or satisfy relevant statutory or regulatory requirements.

  • Expands PPP forgiveness to include some worker protection and facility modification expenditures to comply with COVID-19 federal health and safety guidelines.

  • Income exclusion and expense deductions for payments made on Section 7(a) SBA loans, including PPP.

  • Borrowers with eligible SBA loans will receive an additional 1112 payments for three months of principle and interest starting in February 2021. The payments are capped at $9,000 per month.

  • The $10,000 EIDL advance will no longer be deducted from a borrower’s forgiveness amount.  The SBA will issue rules to ensure that borrowers are made whole if they received forgiveness and the EIDL advance was deducted from that amount.

  • Expenses paid with forgiven PPP loan proceeds are tax-deductible.  This overrides previous IRS guidance disallowing deductions for these eligible expenses. 

For more comprehensive guidance on SBA lending under the new Consolidated Appropriations Act, sign up for Coleman’s Everything Lenders Need to Know about PPP Lending & Forgiveness 3.0 Webinar. 

Sources: 
HR113: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021