Many builders, roofers, and other home improvement professionals were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine. Many in the community lost work, let their team go, and watched their livelihood get threatened by something out of their control.
As a result, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) decided to build a way for small businesses to get financial relief, fast. The SBA provided relief to small businesses to preserve jobs and prevent establishment closures. These low-interest loans were fully SBA-guaranteed and eligible for full loan forgiveness. The SBA helped to make it easier and faster for the community to apply for the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which allowed businesses to apply for up to $10M in financial relief.
However, the Paycheck Protection Program ended on May 31, 2021.
Here are fast facts and the program timeline:
- March 2020: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act created the SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to provide short-term, low interest loans that could be forgiven under specified circumstances to certain small businesses and nonprofits.
- April 3-16, 2020: Program exhausted funding. Congress initially authorized $349 billion for SBA 7(a) loans, including PPP loans, which were available through June 30, 2020. Lending began on April 3, 2020, and the initial authorization was exhausted by April 16.
- April 27, 2020: More funding provided. On April 24, 2020, Congress authorized another $310 billion for 7(a) loans (including PPP loans) in the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. Lending resumed on April 27, 2020, and stopped on June 30, 2020, as required by the CARES Act.
- July 4, 2020: An Act to Extend the Authority for Commitments for the Paycheck Protection Program and Separate Amounts Authorized for Other Loans Under Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act, and for Other Purposes was approved. Lending resumed on July 6, 2020. The Act authorized $659 billion for PPP loan commitments and $30 billion for 7(a) loan commitments.
- August 8, 2020: The SBA stopped accepting new PPP loan applications. As of that date, the SBA had approved over 5.2 million PPP loans, totaling more than $525 billion.
- December 27, 2020: The Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act became a law. The Act, among other provisions, extended the PPP through March 31, 2021, increased the program's authorization amount from $659 billion to $806.45 billion, and authorized second-draw PPP loans of up to $2 million.
- March 11, 2021: the American Rescue Plan Act. Among other provisions, the Act increased the PPP authorization amount to $813.7 billion.
- March 30, 2021: the PPP Extension Act. The Act extended the acceptance of PPP applications through May 31, 2021, and authorized the SBA to process any pending applications submitted on or before that date through June 30, 2021.
- May 31, 2021: the SBA stopped accepting new PPP applications. It had approved over 11.8 million PPP loans, totaling nearly $800 billion.
- June 30, 2021: the program ended. Existing borrowers may be eligible for PPP loan forgiveness.
If you took advantage of the PPP loans during the pandemic, you may qualify for PPP loan forgiveness. Effective March 13, 2024, all borrowers, regardless of loan size, can apply for forgiveness using SBA's direct forgiveness portal.
If you'd prefer to work with your lender, lenders can still accept PPP forgiveness applications directly. Reach out to your lender for assistance. If you do not know where to start, here's the SBA guide describing how to apply for loan forgiveness.