Last Wednesday, February 24, 2021, the Biden Administration opened a window of February 24 through March 9, 2021, for businesses (including non-profits) of 20 or less employees to apply for a second-round application for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

 

The program was extended again this year after last year’s December COVID-19 package was signed into law, but some calculations show less than half of over $280 billion has gone out to businesses. The Biden announcement included several other tweaks that some have felt prevent some small businesses from benefiting.

 

The changes include: Eliminate restrictions that prevent small business owners, delinquent on their federal student loans from qualifying; ensure access for non-citizen small business owners who are lawful U.S. residents by clarifying that they may use Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) to apply; aligned with a bipartisan bill, eliminates a restriction that prevents small business owners with prior non-fraud felony convictions from obtaining relief; and provide new help to sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals receive more assistance by recalculating the formula to benefit these people.

 

Businesses are eligible for a second PPP loan if they meet certain conditions. One of those conditions is showing a 25% reduction in revenue from 2019 to 2020. The 25 percent reduction in revenue is calculated in two ways: comparing annual gross receipts between 2019 and 2020 as reported on a completed tax return or comparing gross receipts in a quarter of 2020 with that same quarter in 2019.

 

Gross receipts are the total amount of money your business has received in a given period. The Small Business Administration (SBA) provides a detailed explanation of gross receipts:

 

  • Receipts mean all revenue in whatever form received or accrued from whatever source, including from the sales of products or services, interest, dividends, rents, royalties, fees, or commissions, reduced by returns and allowances.

 

For greater detail, information is online at Bench and other sites.