If you applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan, and intend to apply for loan forgiveness, you may find the following checklist helpful. Remember, forgiveness applications to the Small Business Administration are done through the bank that helped you with the original loan. Different banks may have somewhat different processes.
Before your request forgiveness, make sure you:
| Have spent all of your PPP funds on eligible costs The SBA states that borrowers can request Forgiveness only for PPP funds they have already spent |
| Choose the right SBA Form to use 3508EZ or 3508 |
| Review the instructions for your SBA Form Form 3508EZ Instructions Form 3508 Instructions |
| Select your Covered Period Choose the 24-week Covered Period or Alternative Payroll Covered Period (if applicable) as the time frame for your incurred or paid payroll costs. If you were funded before June 5, you can choose either an 8-week or a 24-week period. You can request Forgiveness once you have spent all of your PPP funds. While you don’t have to wait until the end of the Covered Period, you may need to make certain certifications to the SBA regarding the entire Covered Period. |
| Calculate your eligible payroll costs If using Form 3508EZ, use Tables 1 and 2 from the Schedule A Worksheet in form 3508, even though you are using the simpler Form 3508EZ. If using Form 3508, complete the entire Schedule A Worksheet, including Tables 1 and 2. |
| Calculate your eligible non-payroll costs This includes utilities, rent, and mortgage interest costs that were established before February 15, 2020. |
| Calculate your average Full Time Equivalency (FTE) Use the simplified or detailed method. See page 4 of Form 3508 instructions. |
| Select your Reference Period After choosing your reference period, you will compare your FTE levels from this period to your FTE levels during the Covered Period. See page 3 of Form 3508 Instructions. Your forgiveness amount may be reduced if weekly average employee FTE during your Covered Period was less than during the Reference Period. |
| Check if you meet Safe Harbor qualifications For details on Safe Harbor rules, see page 5 of Form 3508 Instructions. |
| Gather documents to submit They should show how you spent eligible payroll and non-payroll funds during your Covered Period. See page 6 of Form 3508 Instructions. You can get copies of your payroll returns and PPP reports (if you signed up) from Sharefile. If you don’t have your password, use the Forgot Password function. |
| Review Forgiveness resources Visit sba.gov and treasury.gov for the latest information regarding PPP forgiveness. |
| Use your team You may want to contact your accountant, attorney, or other trusted advisor. The T4P team is ready to help you. Let us know if you need any documentation you could not find on Sharefile. If you didn’t ask us to prepare PPP-supporting reports for you, it’s not too late: Sign up for Reference Period reports and then Sign up for Covered Period report |