PPP Bonuses, Hazard Pay Count Towards Forgivable Payroll Costs, and Other New Guidance

On May 22, 2020, a week after issuing the application form for the CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loan forgiveness, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) released the twenty-six-page interim final rules that provide formal guidance to accompany the application package.

Most of the interim final rules reiterate the substance of the PPP loan forgiveness application, but they also include new pieces of significant guidance such as the inclusion of employee bonuses and hazard pay as forgivable payroll costs when paid to employees earning less than $100,000 a year. Such payments are eligible for forgiveness because, as a supplement to salary or wages, they are considered compensation.

Some of the other significant new guidance includes:

• a further cap on the forgivable payroll expenses of owner-employees, as not to be confused with self-employed individuals, in an amount that is the lesser of 8/52 of 2019 compensation or $15,385 per employee;
• application of the above cap across all business, suggesting that someone with an ownership interest in multiple business will be subject to the overall limitation; and
• safe harbors to protect borrowers from a reduction in full-time employees due to the employees’ actions.

Unsurprisingly, questions remain following the release of the rules, such as the definition of an “owner-employee.” No additional IRS frequently asked questions have been released to supplement the interim final rules.