The COVID-19 outbreak has fundamentally changed the way we live our lives in multiple different ways. For small businesses, the virus outbreak and the subsequent lockdown may have been catastrophic for your business. That’s why the government recently signed the CARES act into line, providing PPP loan forgiveness to businesses in the Bakersfield, California area, and around the country.

On March 27, 2020, to combat the drop of businesses due to the coronavirus outbreak, the federal government signed the CARES act into law. The idea behind this relief bill was to support small businesses throughout the pandemic. The bill was passed as small business owners began to wonder how they could possibly move on without closing their stores.

One of the main measures in the bill is the Paycheck Protection Program. This program has changed since the bill was initially passed all the way back in March. Here are some important things you need to know.

As mentioned earlier, the Paycheck Protection Program is a loan program that originated from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities (CARES) Act. When this bill first passed, it was supposed to provide $350-billion in loans in order to protect small businesses for eight-weeks through 100% federally guaranteed loans. These loans are backed by the Small Business Administration.

After it was clear that the pandemic would stick around longer than anticipated, another $310-billion in loans were added to the funding. Since the signing of the bill, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act has made it easier to spend the fund and get the loan fully forgiven.

Enough with the confusing information, as a business owner, what is it about this bill that you need to know? Here are some important highlights that will help you better understand the program and what it offers:

• Every small business is eligible
• The loan has a maturity rate of two years and an interest rate of 1%
• Any loan made after June 5th has a length of five years
• You will not need to make payments until your forgiveness application is processed or the 10 months period is up
• There are no fees
• No collateral or personal guarantees are required
• The loan can be forgiven

Now that you better understand the benefits of the program, it’s time to determine whether or not you and your business qualify.

Luckily for you, these loans are easier to apply than SBA disaster loans. This means if you’re a small business, chances are you can easily qualify for the loan. Here are some of the businesses that would apply:

• Sole proprietorships – You will need to submit a Schedule C from your tax return filed, or to be filed, showing the net profit from the sole proprietorship
• Independent contractors – You will need to submit Form 1099-MISC as well as your Schedule C
• Self-employed – If you are self-employed, you will need to submit payroll tax filing reported to the Internal Revenue Service

To better understand whether or not you qualify for the program, you may need to do further research.

As is the case with most federal loans, the money needs to be used in certain ways. When it comes to the PPP loan, you must use at least 60% of the funds to fund payroll and employee benefit costs. You can use the rest of the funds on:

• Mortgage interest payments
• Rent and lease payments
• Utilities

As long as you follow these guidelines, you should be able to have 100% of the loan forgiven. This essentially turns it into a tax-free grant. It is important to note, you will be asked to certify that you will spend the funds appropriately. You may be charged with fraud if you fail to do so.

Now that we got your attention with the big, bad ‘fraud’ word, you will want to be sure that you’re using the funds appropriately. To ensure that, you need to know what counts as employee payroll and what doesn’t. Payroll costs under the PPP program include:

• Salary, wages, commissions, tips, bonuses, and hazard pay
• Employee benefits including vacations, sick leave, health care benefits and premiums, and any retirement benefits
• State and local taxes assessed on compensation

Here are some things that are NOT considered payroll costs:

• Any payments made to independent contractors
• S corps and C corps owners who are not on the payroll

Remember, it’s important that you allocate these funds properly.

The entire purpose behind this bill is to protect the paychecks of those working for small businesses during this tumultuous time. As mentioned earlier, to qualify for loan forgiveness, you must commit to protecting your employee’s paychecks.

You must commit to maintaining an average monthly number of full-time equivalent employees equal or above the average monthly number of full-time equivalent employees during the previous 1-year period. And you must spend 60% of the loan funds on the payroll. Here are some things that may reduce the amount that can be forgiven:

• Any reduction in the number of employees retained
• If any wages were reduced by more than 25%

If you were to re-hire any laid-off employees or restore any decreases in wage or salary by December 31, 2020, you will not be penalized for having a reduction.

If you’re curious about PPP loan forgiveness in Bakersfield, California, our team of experts is here to help. When you get in contact with us we will help walk you through the process to ensure you are doing everything correctly. To get the proper amount forgiven, it’s important that you fill out your applications properly. We can help you achieve that.