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Yes! The SBA is currently taking applications, however you must first apply to your lender. Check out our overview for an up-to-date list of PPP lenders accepting forgiveness applications.The conditions of the Paycheck Protection ProgramLet’s first review the terms of using your PPP loan.The funds from your PPP loan can be used for the following purposes:• Payroll—salary, wage, vacation, parental, family, medical, or sick leave, health benefits• Mortgage interest—as long as the mortgage was signed before February 15, 2020• Rent—as long as the lease agreement was in effect before February 15, 2020 (here’s what’s included in rent)• Utilities—as long as service began before February 15, 2020 (here’s what’s included in utilities)• Operations expenditures—any software, cloud computing, or other human resources and accounting needs (like Bench)• Property damage costs—any costs from damages due to public disturbances occurring in 2020 and not covered by insurance• Supplier costs—any purchase order or order of goods made prior to receiving a PPP loan essential to operations• Worker protection expenditures—any personal protection equipment or property improvements to remain COVID compliant from March 1, 2020 onwardsFurther reading: How to Spend Your PPP Funds (Updated for 2021)All expenses that fall under the above listed categories are eligible for forgiveness. The following conditions will also apply:1. 8 to 24 weeks of expense coverageExpenses eligible for forgiveness are those that are incurred over the 8 to 24 week period, starting from the day you receive your PPP loan from your lender. This is not necessarily the date on which you signed your loan agreement.You do not need to adjust your payroll schedule. All payroll that your employees incur over the 8 to 24 week period is eligible for forgiveness, even if the actual payout date falls outside the covered period.2. The 60/40 ruleAt least 60% of your loan must be used for payroll costs. Payments to independent contractors cannot be included in the payroll costs. Your forgivable amount will scale in proportion to the percentage of your loan that you spend on payroll, up to the total loan amount.For example, if a business gets a $20,000 PPP loan, they would need to spend at least $12,000—60% of the loan—on payroll. However, they spend only $9,000 on payroll. This is 75% of the minimum payroll cost required for full forgiveness so their forgiveness amount is 75% of the loan. This means $15,000 of the $20,000 loan is forgiven, and they have to pay back the remaining $5,000.You can also find your maximum forgiveness amount from your payroll costs. Simply divide your total payroll costs by 0.6.3. Staffing requirementsYou must maintain the number of employees on your payroll. This is because the purpose of the PPP loan is to maintain jobs.Here is the calculation you can use to determine if you’ve met this requirement:First, determine the average number of full-time equivalent employees you had during:• The 8-week to 24-week period following your initial loan disbursement, (A)• February 15, 2019 to June 30, 2019, (B1)• January 1, 2020 to February 29, 2020. (B2)Take A and divide that by B1. Then take A and divide by B2. Use the larger number you obtain.• If you get a number equal to or larger than 1, you successfully maintained your headcount and meet the staffing requirement.• If you get a number smaller than 1, you did not maintain your headcount and your forgivable expenses will be reduced proportionately.Seasonal employersFor seasonal employers, you have more freedom in choosing a 12-week period that best represents your operations. Here is the calculation you must use.First, calculate your average number of full-time equivalent employees you had during:• The 8-week to 24-week period following your initial loan disbursement, (A)• For seasonal employers only, any consecutive 12-week period between February 15, 2019 and February 15, 2020 (B)Take A and divide by B.• If you get a number equal to or larger than 1, you successfully maintained your headcount and meet the staffing requirement.• If you get a number smaller than 1, you did not maintain your headcount and your forgivable expenses will be reduced proportionately.You must rehire employees to maintain your employee count before you apply for forgiveness. It’s best to check this calculation throughout your covered period to make sure you’re meeting the requirement. To help, we’ve answered the most common questions around PPP rules on rehiring employees.Exemptions on rehiring employeesEmployees who were employed as of February 15, 2020, and were laid off or put on furlough may not wish to be rehired onto payroll. If the employee rejects your re-employment offer, you may be allowed to exclude this employee when calculating forgiveness.To qualify for this exemption:• You must have made an written offer to rehire in good faith• You must have offered to rehire for the same salary/wage and number of hours as before they were laid off• You must have documentation of the employee’s rejection of the offerIf any of these conditions apply to an employee, you can also qualify for an exemption:• They were fired for cause• They voluntarily resigned• They voluntarily requested and received a reduction of their hoursYou may also be required to demonstrate you were unable to hire similarly qualified employees for unfilled positions, or document that due to safety requirements, you were unable to return to normal operating levels. Note that employees who reject offers for re-employment may no longer be eligible for continued unemployment benefits.4. Pay requirementsYou must maintain at least 75% of each employee’s total salary.This requirement applies to every employee that received less than $100,000 in annualized pay in 2019 or 2020 (depending on what year you used to calculate your PPP loan amount).If the employee’s pay over the 24 weeks is less than 75% of the pay they received during the most recent quarter, the eligible amount for forgiveness will be reduced by the difference between their current pay and 75% of the original pay.5. Rehiring grace periodFor PPP loans distributed in 2020, any rehiring must have been done before December 31, 2020.For PPP loans distributed in 2021, the SBA has not released any information on a potential grace period for rehiring employees. As of now, any rehiring must be done before the end of your covered period.Further reading: Safe Harbor Rules for PPP Loan Forgiveness