President Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020.
This extends the 8 week period to 24 weeks for companies to meet the forgiveness requirements.
It also lowers the % needed to be allocated to payroll to 60% - leaving 40% to cover rent & utilities, moves the FTE safe harbor date to December 31st instead of June 30th and allows for an extension of loan terms to 5yrs @ 1% (if lender agrees)...
These changes will allow more flexibility in qualifying for forgiveness although if not needed for an existing loan you can still work with the 8 weeks and gain forgiveness sooner.
Also - the deferral of FICA taxes is now available even if you have PPP loan proceeds.
There are still funds available (thru June 30th) so if you have not applied yet and wish to do so - please check with your bank to see if they are still taking applications.
We are hopeful that specific guidance will be available very soon so not all questions can be answered just yet - but what we know now should give some much needed stress relief to those of you struggling to keep payroll going while not fully operational.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!