PPP loans (the full principal amount and any accrued interest) may be fully forgiven, meaning they do not have to be repaid. If you do not apply for forgiveness, you will have to repay the loan.
Those who received a PPP loan in the initial round had only eight weeks to use the money. For PPP loans issued after June 5, 2020, borrowers are given six months to spend the cash. They don't have to start repaying the loan until 10 months after the spending period ends.
In order to be forgiven, at least 60% of the loan amount needs to be used for payroll purposes. If less than 60% of your loan is used for payroll, you can still be eligible for forgiveness, with the amount you spend correlating directly to forgiveness.
The loans are designed to be forgiven, but it's not automatic. Recipients can keep the money if they demonstrate that they used it for certain purposes and largely refrained from cutting jobs and pay.
After you've turned in your PPP forgiveness application and your lender sends it to the SBA, the SBA will have up to 90 days to make a final decision. If your PPP loan is not fully forgiven, then you will need to repay back any portion that wasn't forgiven.
Wire Fraud: If you used a device, like telephone, internet, etc, to defraud an institution in order to gain funds from a PPP loan – you can be convicted of wire fraud. Penalties for wire fraud can include a prison sentence up to 20 years, and in addition – restitution to anyone impacted.
All PPP loans have an interest rate of 1%, with loans issued prior to June 5 maturing after two years and loans issued after June 5 maturing after five years. Basically, PPP loans issued before June 5, 2020, must be paid back in two years, and loans issued after that must be paid back in five years.
It is illegal to make false statements to a financial institution, so if you were to lie on a PPP loan, you could be charged with this federal crime. This act is criminalized under section 1014 and if convicted, you can face quite a hefty fine along with imprisonment for up to 30 years.
U.S. Bank. U.S. Bank is accepting applications for first and second PPP loans. Existing customers nationwide can apply, as can non-customers located in states with U.S. Bank branches.
Unlike other SBA loans, PPP loans are designed to be partially or fully forgivable, meaning you won't have to pay them back as long as you follow certain rules. Here are a few key facts about the first round of PPP loans: Qualified businesses could receive 2.5 times their average monthly payroll costs up to $10 million.
Cheating the Small Business Administration (SBA) out of this stimulus money is a federal felony. It carries potential prison time, fines, and repayment of the loan.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is auditing all companies that received PPP loans of $2 million or greater, and the SBA's Investigations Division, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and various other federal agencies are also targeting recipients in PPP loan fraud investigations.
Under the program, PPP loans can be forgiven if recipients maintain employee and compensation levels where they were before Covid and if at least 60 percent of the loan proceeds are spent on payroll costs and the rest on other eligible expenses, such as rent or utility payments.
Failure to meet the 60/40 split
If you fail to spend 60% of your PPP funds on payroll-related costs, your loan forgiveness amount may be reduced. You may still be able to have the amount you do spend on payroll costs plus a qualifying amount spent on other approved expenditures forgiven.
PPP loans have an interest rate of 1%. Loans issued prior to June 5, 2020, have a maturity of two years. Loans issued after June 5, 2020, have a maturity of five years. Loan payments will be deferred for borrowers who apply for loan forgiveness until SBA remits the borrower's loan forgiveness amount to the lender.
A Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan default is treated just like any other SBA loan guaranteed by the government to a lender (under the 7A program, the government secures 85% of a loan to the bank; for PPP loans, the government secures 100% of the debt to the bank).
The best part about PPP loans is that up to 100% of the funds can be forgiven. However, you're going to have to play by the SBA's rules: Forgivable expenses must be spent on eligible categories and adhere to the 60/40 rule.
Your lender is responsible for notifying you of the forgiveness amount paid by SBA and the date on which your first payment will be due, if applicable. Borrowers who need assistance with direct forgiveness can contact SBA at our dedicated forgiveness call center: 877-552-2692.
PPP Credit Checks
There does not appear to be any credit check required for PPP loans. That's somewhat surprising because these loans technically fall under the SBA 7(a) loan program, which typically does require acceptable credit.
If the loan is fully forgiven, the borrower is not responsible for any payments. If only a portion of the loan is forgiven, or if the forgiveness application is denied, any remaining balance due on the loan must be repaid by the borrower on or before the maturity date of the loan.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) was responsible for investigating fraud and misconduct in PPP, but some banks have enacted practices such as freezing and closing accounts with the intent to deter misuse of funds.
What can I spend my PPP funds on? Generally, PPP funds can be used for four purposes: payroll, mortgage interest, rent/lease, and utilities. Payroll should be the major use of the loan.
The SBA has warned that depositing federal loan funds into a personal bank account is considered to be a strong indicator for fraud, and it has urged banks to scrutinize PPP loan recipients who deposited their loans into personal accounts.