On March 27, 2020, the US government passed the CARES Act in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Under the CARES Act, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). For more information on the PPP, see Practice Note, Road Map to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act): Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

On October 13, 2020, the SBA issued updated PPP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to clarify that borrowers may submit a loan forgiveness application any time before the maturity date of the loan, which is either two or five years from loan origination. However, if a borrower does not apply for loan forgiveness within 10 months after the last day of the borrower’s loan forgiveness covered period, loan payments are no longer deferred and the borrower must begin making payments on the loan. The SBA gave an example of a borrower whose covered period ends on October 30, 2020 will have until August 30, 2021 to apply for forgiveness before loan repayment begins.

There was some confusion since the PPP loan forgiveness application forms (3508, 3508EZ, and 3508S) have a printed expiration date of 10/31/2020. The SBA explained that this date is for compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act and will be extended, and the same forms with the new expiration date will be posted, when approved.

For summaries of the SBA PPP, see:

For additional guidance from the Treasury Department, see: