DTPHX Small Business Owners: What You Need To Know About New PPP Rules

A long-time downtown small business located on the ground-floor of the Orpheum Lofts building, Andy’s Shoe Shine is owned and operated by Andy and Grace Milsap. Their businesses relied heavily on tourism and convention traffic prior to the pandemic.

On Wednesday, the Small Business Administration (SBA) opened an exclusive 14-day Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan application window for businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 20 employees. The priority window will only be open Wednesday, Feb. 24 through Tuesday, March 9, 2021.

The goal is to prioritize loans for small and minority-owned businesses who were unable to access PPP funds in the past —  98 percent of small businesses employ fewer than 20 people, but have received only 45 percent of PPP funding thus far, according to the SBA.

If it’s your first time applying for the Paycheck Protection Program, you can download and fill out the First Draw PPP loan application. For borrowers that previously received a PPP loan in 2020, you need to fill out the Second Draw PPP loan application.

Participating PPP lenders in your zip code can be found through the SBA lender search tool, and there are lots of options in Phoenix.

The SBA also announced new reforms to the program, which roll out in early March. Those reforms include:

• Allowing 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.
• Eliminating an exclusionary restriction on PPP access for small business owners with prior non-fraud felony convictions, consistent with a bipartisan congressional proposal.
• Eliminating PPP access restrictions on small business owners who have struggled to make federal student loan payments by eliminating federal student loan debt delinquency and default as disqualifiers to participating in the PPP.
• Ensuring access for non-citizen small business owners who are lawful U.S. residents by clarifying that they may use an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to apply for the PPP.

Questions?

If you are a Downtown Phoenix small business with questions about the PPP loan, contact Sara Scoville-Weaver, senior business development manager with the Downtown Phoenix Partnership, at sscovilleweaver@dtphx.org or call 602-744-6408.