This morning, President Biden announced new changes to the the Paycheck Protection Program to ensure equity.

Beginning on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 9 a.m., the U.S. Small Business Administration will establish a 14-day, exclusive PPP loan application period for businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 20 employees. This will give lenders and community partners more time to work with the smallest businesses to submit their applications, while also ensuring that larger PPP-eligible businesses will still have plenty of time to apply for and receive support before the program expires on March 31, 2021.

SBA also announced four additional changes to open the PPP to more underserved small businesses than ever before. While these changes are being implemented, SBA will work with community partners to improve the emergency relief “digital front door” and conduct extensive stakeholder outreach. And, SBA will strengthen its relationships with lender partners to advance equity goals, deliver funding efficiently, and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. SBA will:

• Allow sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals to receive more financial support by revising the PPP’s funding formula for these categories of applicants;
• Eliminate an exclusionary restriction on PPP access for small business owners with prior non-fraud felony convictions, consistent with a bipartisan congressional proposal;
• Eliminate PPP access restrictions on small business owners who have struggled to make student loan payments by eliminating student loan debt delinquency as a disqualifier to participating in the PPP; and
• Ensure access for non-citizen small business owners who are lawful U.S. residents by clarifying that they may use Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to apply for the PPP.

⚡️BREAKING: Starting on Wednesday, businesses with fewer than 20 employees have an exclusive 14-day period to apply for a PPP loan.

Four additional #PPP changes were announced, with the goal to reach underserved small businesses: https://t.co/ziyOhW22nkpic.twitter.com/ECzGsB5F9z

— Loudoun Biz (@LoudounBiz) February 22, 2021

For more information on SBA’s assistance to small businesses, visit sba.gov/ppp or treasury.gov/cares. The SBA’s website additionally provides loan details and forgiveness information for businesses that have already received a loan.