Rickert, Wessel & Allen has been closely monitoring COVID-19 and its impact. To keep our clients, community, employees, and families safe, we have followed the Iowa Department of Public Health and CDC guidance for our business operations. To help “flatten the curve” and slow the spread, we canceled/postponed non-essential travel, canceled conference attendance, moved meetings virtual, and increased social distancing.
We have a business continuity plan prepared for this eventuality, and attorneys and staff will continue to support and serve our clients during this rapidly changing situation.
It’s important to note that we are not aware of any active COVID-19 cases in our offices, among firm members, or their families, but we are taking these actions to protect everyone and, as a matter of public health, to slow the spread of the virus.
If you are a current client, please contact your attorney directly via email. For all other inquiries, please call our direct line at (319) 345-6438 or send a request via our website and someone will respond within 24 hours.
We are committed to serving our clients and will continue communicating with you as this situation evolves.
SBA Economic Injury Disaster Advance Loan due to Covid 19 are loan advances, which may be up to $10,000, may be available within 3 days of a successful application made online by an eligible applicant. This initial amount will not need to be repaid. These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. Amounts over the initial advance will be subject to repayment terms as discussed at www.sba.gov.
Eligible Applicants Include:
If the Applicant is engaged in or any of the following applies to the Applicant, they are ineligible for this Assistance:
Applicant cannot be a state, local, or municipal government entity and cannot be a member of Congress.
https://www.sba.gov/disaster-assistance/coronavirus-covid-19
The CARES Act establishes a new Paycheck Protection Program under the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Section 7(a) loan program designed to help eligible businesses stay open and retain employees by providing loans to pay operational costs during the COVID-19 emergency. This program is different than the existing SBA loans and the SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) under Section 7(b) of the SBA Act.
Applications for the Paycheck Protection Program loans, described in more detail below, and recently-issued SBA guidance can be found here.
Businesses considering the Paycheck Protection Program should be mindful that:
Paycheck Protection Program Loans
Generally, under the Paycheck Protection Program, small businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 500 employees are eligible for loans until June 30, 2020 in amounts of up to $10 million. Loan proceeds are to be used for the following uses:
The CARES Act also provided that the Paycheck Protection Program loans may also be used to refinance existing indebtedness, including EIDLs made between January 31, 2020 and the date the Paycheck Protection Program loans are made available.
Small businesses and sole proprietorships may start applying for loans starting on April 3, 2020, and independent contractors and self-employed individuals may start applying for loans starting on April 10, 2020. As of now, only existing SBA lenders may process applications. Visit www.sba.gov for a list of SBA lenders.
Terms
The amount of the loan cannot exceed the sum of 2.5 times the average monthly payroll costs during the year prior to the loan and the amount of any EIDLs being refinanced (if applicable). Special rules apply to seasonal employers and employers not in business for a full year for purposes of calculating payroll costs. These rules can be found in the instructions to the Paycheck Protection Application Form.
Payroll costs include:
Payroll costs do not include:
Based on the most recent SBA guidance that Paycheck Protection Program Loans have a fixed interest rate of 0.5%. Borrower and lender fees to the loans are waived, and lenders are required to defer payments of principal, interest, and fees by the borrower for at least 6 months and may defer for up to 1 year. Note, however, that interest will continue to accrue during the deferral period.
The borrower must also give a good faith certification that:
Unlike certain other SBA loans, neither collateral nor a personal guarantee is required, and the SBA requirement that the borrower was unable to obtain credit elsewhere has been waived. Because these loans are 100% federally guaranteed, in making its determination as to creditworthiness, lenders will only consider whether the business was operational on February 15, 2020, and had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll taxes, or paid independent contractors.
Eligibility
Eligible businesses include: (a) any business that qualifies as a “small business concern” under current SBA rules, and (b) any other business concern (even if they do not meet the “small business concern” definition under the SBA Act), nonprofit under 501(c)(3), veterans organization under (501(c)(19), or Tribal business concern that employs not more than the greater of: (i) 500 employees, or (ii) the maximum size standard in number of employees for a particular industry set forth in the SBA’s size standards tool.
There is a special eligibility rule for businesses in the hospitality and dining industries. For these and other businesses assigned a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) beginning with 72 (i.e., the “accommodation and food services” industry) with more than one physical location, if it employs 500 or fewer employees per location, the business is eligible to receive a loan.
Individuals who operate under a sole proprietorship or as an independent contractor, and certain self-employed individuals, are also eligible.
Generally, the applying business (including nonprofits) must include its affiliates and subsidiaries in determining whether it is eligible to participate in the program due to the size of its business. SBA affiliation rules will apply in determining the size of a business for purposes under the CARES Act, subject to certain carveouts for (i) businesses assigned a NAICS beginning with 72 (i.e., the “accommodation and food services” industry); (ii) franchises that have been assigned a franchise identifier code by the SBA; and (iii) small businesses that receive financing through the Small Business Investment Company program.
Forgiveness
Loans made under the program are eligible for forgiveness up to amounts paid by the business during the first eight weeks following loan origination for the following expenditures to the extent existing as of February 15, 2020 (as demonstrated by verified documentation borrowers must submit to the lender):
Note that while pre-existing non-mortgage debt obligation payments are authorized use of loan proceeds, those payments are not eligible for forgiveness.
The SBA guidance and Paycheck Protection Program Application Form state: “Due to likely high subscription, it is anticipated that not more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the forgiven amount may be for non-payroll costs.”
The amount forgiven is lowered proportionately by reductions in full time employment or where wages fall by more than 25% during the between February 15, 2020 and June 30, 2020. If you reduce the number of full time employees or salary between February 15, 2020 and April 27, 2020 but rehire employees or restore compensation before June 30, 2020, such reductions will not count to reduce the amount of your loan forgiveness. The reductions in amounts forgiven can be mitigated by rehiring laid off employees no later than June 30, 2020.
Borrowers must apply for loan forgiveness to your lender with the required documents. The lender will issue a decision on applications for loan forgiveness within 60 days of receiving the completed application and required documentation. Under the SBA guidance, the loan amount not forgiven will have a maturity date of 2 years from the date of the application for forgiveness. The forgiven amount of the loan will not be includible in the borrower’s gross income for federal tax purposes.
Under the CARES Act, the Federal Government increased the availability of unemployment benefits to self-employed, independent contractors, gig workers, and others who are partially or completely unemployed due to COVID-19.
When applying you must select the application that is for filing due to a temporary layoff as a result of COVID-19. The application and more information can be found at https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/COVID-19