PPP Loan Forgiveness

If you have received a PPP loan through Byline Bank you must submit an application for forgiveness through Byline. Please use the Apply Now button above to log in to our PPP Forgiveness Application portal.

No. Please use the Apply Now button above to log in to our PPP Forgiveness Application portal.

No You must submit an application for forgiveness through Byline. Please use the Apply Now button above to log in to our PPP Forgiveness Application portal.

• Payroll costs, as defined by the SBA (the PPP Flexibility Act revision states at least 60% of loan proceeds must be used for payroll costs for a loan to be fully forgiven)
• Mortgage interest (for mortgages in existence on or before 2/15/20)
• Rent (lease agreements in place on or before 2/15/20)
• Utilities (servicing on or before 2/15/20)
• Refinancing an SBA EIDL loan made between 1/31/20 – 4/3/20

The PPP Flexibility Act extended the payment deferral period from 6 months after loan origination to the date the approved loan forgiveness amount is remitted to the lender. If a borrower does not submit its loan forgiveness request within 10 months after the end of the applicable loan forgiveness period, then the borrower will be required to begin making principal and interest payments after the 10-month period.

Yes. The outstanding principal and interest on that portion of the loan which was not forgiven must be repaid based on SBA guidelines.

The PPP Flexibility Act extended the covered period a borrower may use funds to within 24 weeks of loan disbursement (i.e., when loan funds were deposited into your account), not to extend past December 31, 2020.

The 24 week period for determining eligible payroll costs begins, at a qualifying borrower’s election, either on (i) the date the PPP loan is disbursed (“Covered Period”) or (ii) the first day of the borrower’s first payroll period following the day of the PPP loan disbursement (the “Alternative Period”). The SBA has provided certain borrowers with administrative flexibility to ensure covered payroll costs are eligible for loan forgiveness.  Please reference the SBA’s FAQs for Lenders and Borrowers for specific examples.

The Instructions to Schedule A to the Application define “cash compensation” to include “the sum of gross salary, gross wages, gross tips, gross commissions, paid leave (vacation, family, medical or sick leave, not including leave covered by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act), and allowances for dismissal or separation paid or incurred during the Covered Period or the [Alternative Period].”

According to Schedule A of the Application, the following costs are considered eligible payroll costs:

• Employer contributions for employee health insurance, including employer contributions to a self-insured, employer-sponsored group health plan, but excluding any pre-tax or after-tax contributions by employees.
• Employer contributions to employee retirement plans on behalf of employees, but excluding any pre-tax or after-tax contributions by employees.
• Employer state and local taxes assessed on employee compensation, but excluding any taxes withheld from employee earnings.

Eligible non-payroll costs that are either paid during the Covered Period or “incurred” during the Covered Period and paid on or before the next regular billing date, even if the billing date is after the Covered Period, are eligible for loan forgiveness.

According to the application, an average full-time equivalent (“FTE”) employee headcount during the Covered Period or the Alternative Period is calculated as follows:

• For each employee, the borrower is required to divide the average number of hours paid per week by 40, and round the total to the nearest tenth (the maximum for each employee is capped at 1.0); or
• A simplified method that assigns a 1.0 for employees who work 40 hours or more per week and 0.5 for employees who work fewer hours may be used at the election of the borrower.

The PPP Flexibility Act expanded the safe harbor by extending the cutoff date for rehiring full-time equivalent employees and eliminating prior salary/wage reductions from June 30, 2020 to December 31,2020, providing PPP borrowers with more time to return to pre-COVID payroll levels to qualify for full forgiveness.

Please reference our PPP Forgiveness Documentation guide, or the PPP Loan Forgiveness Application Form 3508EZ for a description of the documentation needed.

At this time, the SBA has issued no guidance that outlines how it will “audit” relevant borrower certifications for loans above $2million.

The borrower is required to make a variety of certifications in submitting the Forgiveness Application, including but not limited to the following:

• Certification that the dollar amount for which forgiveness is requested was used to pay costs that are eligible for forgiveness and that, if the funds were knowingly used for unauthorized purposes or the borrower knowingly makes a false statement to obtain forgiveness, the federal government may pursue recovery of loan amounts and/or civil or criminal fraud charges.
• Certification of the borrower’s understanding and agreement that the SBA may request additional information for the purposes of evaluating the borrower’s eligibility for both (i) the PPP loan and (ii) loan forgiveness.

Also, the borrower must acknowledge that if it fails to provide information requested by the SBA, it may result in either a determination that the borrower was ineligible for the PPP loan or a denial of the borrower’s loan forgiveness application.

Borrowers and lenders must retain PPP loan documentation for six (6) years after the date the loan is forgiven or paid in full.

Also, the borrower must acknowledge that if it fails to provide information requested by the SBA, it may result in either a determination that the borrower was ineligible for the PPP loan or a denial of the borrower’s loan forgiveness application.