First Hawaiian Bank and Bank of Hawaii are among the local financial institutions now accepting SBA Small Business Paycheck Protection Program applications.

The SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) authorizes up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses to pay their employees during the COVID-19 crisis. This relief program, which is being implemented by the U.S. Small Business Administration with support from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, provides small businesses with a one-time, “fully forgivable loan” up to $10 million to cover up to eight weeks of payroll expenses, including benefits, and can also be used to make mortgage, lease and utility payments.

Applications for the PPP program may be submitted now for small businesses and sole proprietors and starting Friday, April 10, 2020 for independent contractors and self-employed individuals, and must be submitted by June 30, 2020.  The applications are online at most participating bank’s websites, including for First Hawaiian Bank at sba.fhb.com or Bank of Hawaii at https://www.boh.com/covid-19-main-page/small-business-assistance

Some of the documentation which will be needed:

IRS Form 941 Employers Quarterly Tax returns for 2019, IRS Form 1099 MISC: 2019 and other payroll documents including payroll schedule or reports from CPA, bookkeeper or payroll provider that verify the number of full-time equivalent employees on payroll, the dollar amounts of payroll costs, covered mortgage interest payments, covered rent payments and covered utilities for the eight weeks after receiving the loan.

Important Loan Information (subject to change depending on further SBA guidance):

• Funds are provided in the form of bank loans that will be fully forgiven when used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities.
  • Payroll costs are capped at $100,000 on an annualized basis for each employee.
  • It is anticipated that 75% of the forgiven amount must be used for payroll.
• Loan payments will be deferred for six months; interest will then accrue at 0.5%.
• No collateral or personal guarantees are required.
• Neither government nor lenders will charge small businesses any fees.
• Borrowers must keep employees on the payroll – or rehire quickly to be eligible for loan forgiveness.
  • Forgiveness is based on maintaining or quickly rehiring employees and maintaining salary levels.
  • Forgiveness will be reduced if full-time headcount declines, or if salaries and wages decrease.
• Businesses with 500 or fewer employees are eligible – including nonprofits, veterans’ organizations, tribal concerns, self-employed individuals, sole proprietorships and independent contractors.
  • Businesses in certain industries are eligible even if they have more than 500 employees.

 

For additional information from the U.S. Treasury about the Paycheck Protection Program, please visit https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/PPP–Fact-Sheet.pdf.