Small Business Administration’s Forgivable Loan Program

MSBA has many resources on our COVID website for small businesses and loan programs. We will continue to provide updated information on our website and upcoming webinars, so please check our site frequently. The SBA’s forgivable loan program is available as part of the stimulus bill.  Here are some details of the forgivable loan program:

1. The Small Business Administration loan program is being expanded to provide federally backed loans to small businesses.
2. Loans will initially be disbursed through the extensive network of banks that participate in SBA’s 7(a) Loan Program, and it is likely that this network will be expanded in the coming days.
3.To be eligible, a law firm must have fewer than 500 employees.
4. Eligible firms may borrow up to 2.5x their average monthly payroll costs for the preceding 12 months.
5. Payroll costs include salary, wages, commission, or similar, PTO, severance, health insurance payments, and state and local payroll taxes, but exclude federal payroll taxes and compensation of an individual employee over $100,000 per annum.
6. No personal guarantees or collateral are required for the covered loan.
7. The proceeds of the loan may be used to pay payroll costs, mortgage interest, rent, utilities, and interest on other debt obligations during the 8-week period after the origination of the loan
8. The loan will be forgiven to the extent it is used to pay for the following during the eight weeks after loan origination: payroll costs, mortgage interest, rent, and utilities (including telephone and internet), provided these were in force prior to February 15, 2020.
9. Loans forgiven will not be counted as taxable income.

10. Since the loan is intended to protect employees and keep them on the payroll despite the difficult economic conditions, loan forgiveness will be reduced in proportion to any reduction in workforce (calculated by dividing the average number of FTEs per month during the 8-week period after loan origination and the average number of FTEs per month during either (as elected by the borrower) February 15, 2019 – June 30, 2019, or January 1, 2020 – February 29, 2020.
There are a few programs available, and you can apply to the SBA Disaster Loan Application here and view an option for the Paycheck Protection Program here.