The SBA Paycheck Protection Program Loan through American Express

In general, all businesses whose principal place of residence is in the United States and that were in operation on February 15, 2020 – including tax-exempt nonprofits, tax-exempt veterans organizations, Tribal business concerns, sole proprietorships, self-employed individuals, and independent contractors – with 500 or fewer employees can apply. Businesses in certain industries can have more than 500 employees if they meet applicable SBA employee-based size standards for those industries. For this program, the SBA’s affiliation standards are waived for small businesses (1) in the hotel and food services industries; or (2) that are in franchises in the SBA’s Franchise Directory; or (3) that receive assistance from small business investment companies licensed by the SBA.

For additional details on affiliation standards, please visit the links in the Resources section below.

The Paycheck Protection Program interim final rules states that “payroll costs” include:

• Compensation to employees (whose principal place of residence is the United States) in the form of:
• Salary, wages, commissions, or similar compensation (capped at $100,000 on an annualized basis for each employee);
• Cash tips or the equivalent (based on employer records of past tips or, in the absence of such records, a reasonable, good-faith employer estimate of such tips);
• Payment for vacation, parental, family, medical, or sick leave;
• Allowance for separation or dismissal;
• Payment for the provision of employee benefits consisting of group health care coverage, including insurance premiums, and retirement; and
• Payment of state and local taxes assessed on compensation of employees;
• For an independent contractor or sole proprietor, payroll costs would include wage, commissions, income, or net earnings from self-employment or similar compensation, capped at $100,000 on an annualized basis for each employee.

The Paycheck Protection Program Interim Final Rule states that an eligible business must submit the following documentation such as

• payroll processor records;
• payroll tax filings, or
• Form 1099- MISC, or
• income and expenses from a sole proprietorship.

For borrowers that do not have any such documentation, the borrower must provide other supporting documentation, such as

• Bank records, sufficient to demonstrate the qualifying payroll amount.

As per the industry view, the business must submit the documentation as is necessary to establish eligibility depending on their entity status:

All Borrowers
1. Master Payroll documents that will provide the following information:
   • Salary, wages, commissions, or tips (not exceeding $100,000 annually for each employee)
   • Any costs for the separation or dismissal of employees
   • Any costs for vacation, parental, family, medical or sick leave
   • Any state & local taxes assessed on employee compensation
Business
1. IRS Form 944

   a. Alternate Acceptable Documents: IRS Form 941(for unemployment costs)

2. IRS Form W3
3. If your business pays for health insurance or retirement for employees, you will also need to provide the following from 1099 or W2 forms:
   • All health insurance premiums paid by the business owner under a group health plan
   • All retirement plan funding paid for by the business owner
4. Alternate Acceptable Documents:
   • For Non-Seasonal Business, businesses that are open all year round: Business Bank Statements (Prior 6 months)
   • Seasonal Businesses, businesses that are closed some part of the year: Business Bank Statements (2019 12 Months)
Self-Employed
1. IRS Form 1040 Schedule C, 1099-MISC (If you are self-employed, provide one of the supporting documents)
Independent Contractor
1. IRS Form 1099-MISC (If you are an independent contractor, provide form 1099-MISC)

To begin the application process, click here.

PPP funds are finite and applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Submitting an application does not guarantee funding.

In addition to the Paycheck Protection Program, the CARES Act established several other new temporary programs for small businesses to address the COVID-19 outbreak. Please visit www.sba.gov for details on these programs.

To learn more about what American Express is doing as a response to COVID-19, please visit: https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/company/notice/covid-19/