This article was updated April 27, 2020 with additional guidance from Treasury.
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) offers forgivable loans to business owners who use the proceeds primarily to maintain payroll. But there is a lot of confusion among small business owners who don’t understand how the money they pay themselves—such as the owner’s draw or distributions—may impact their ability to qualify for PPP.
Here are just a few of the questions we’ve received from business owners:
- We are an S Corp and in the last year it was just myself and my husband on the payroll. As our income is sporadic we pay ourselves quarterly whatever we can and take shareholder draws as we need them to cover expenses. Should we include shareholder distributions as part of the annual income?
- I am a sole member LLC working as a contract paralegal. Checks are written to my LLC and I in turn pay myself. How do I prove income?
- My husband and I run an LLC and both own 50% of the company. We do not have employees or formal payroll. We don’t receive actual payroll checks but instead just pay ourselves what is left after the bills are paid for the month. Do we qualify for a PPP loan?
Here’s the issue. Many business owners don’t pay themselves through formal payroll. Instead, they take money out of their business for their own use when they can. (Some even use business funds to pay personal expenses, which is not a good practice in any situation.) This ad hoc approach to paying the business owner may prove problematic when it comes to qualifying for PPP.
On April 24, 2020 Treasury released guidelines for calculating the maximum loan amount by business entity, and we are sharing that information here. Unfortunately, it was released late in the process after many businesses already applied. But if you’re still considering applying for a PPP loan, it may prove helpful. Keep in mind the maximum loan amount is $10 million per PPP loan, regardless of business entity.
Please keep in mind this information is changing rapidly and is based on our current understanding of the programs. It can and likely will change. Although we will be monitoring and updating this as new information becomes available, please do not rely solely on this for your financial decisions. We encourage you to consult with your lawyers, CPAs and Financial Advisors. To review your real-time funding options with one of Nav’s lending experts, please contact us.
S Corporations
When owners of S Corporations pay themselves (or other shareholders), they may pay themselves a salary, distributions (or “owner’s draw”) or a combination of the two. Salary payments are subject to payroll taxes while owner’s draws or distributions are not taxed as salary. It’s the latter that can create problems when it comes to qualifying for PPP.
Here’s the latest guidance describing how to calculate the maximum loan amount for corporations, including S and C corporations:
Step 1: Compute 2019 payroll costs by adding the following:
- 2019 gross wages and tips paid to your employees whose principal place of residence is in the United States, which can be computed using 2019 IRS Form 941 Taxable Medicare wages & tips (line 5c-column 1) from each quarter plus any pre-tax employee contributions for health insurance or other fringe benefits excluded from Taxable Medicare wages & tips, subtracting any amounts paid to any individual employee in excess of $100,000 and any amounts paid to any employee whose principal place of residence is outside the U.S;
- 2019 employer health insurance contributions (portion of IRS Form 1120 line 24 or IRS Form 1120-S line 18 attributable to health insurance);
- 2019 employer retirement contributions (IRS Form 1120 line 23 or IRS Form 1120-S line 17); and
- 2019 employer state and local taxes assessed on employee compensation, primarily state unemployment insurance tax (from state quarterly wage reporting forms).
Step 2: Calculate the average monthly payroll costs (divide the amount from Step 1 by 12).
Step 3: Multiply the average monthly payroll costs from Step 2 by 2.5.
Step 4: Add the outstanding amount of any EIDL made between January 31, 2020 and April 3, 2020 that you seek to refinance, less the amount of any advance under an EIDL COVID-19 loan (because it does not have to be repaid).
Documentation: The corporation’s 2019 IRS Form 941 and state quarterly wage unemployment insurance tax reporting form from each quarter (or equivalent payroll processor records or IRS Wage and Tax Statements), along with the filed business tax return (IRS Form 1120 or IRS 1120-S) or other documentation of any retirement and health insurance contributions, must be provided to substantiate the applied-for PPP loan amount. A payroll statement or similar documentation from the pay period that covered February 15, 2020 must be provided to establish you were in operation and had employees on that date.
Conspicuously absent from this guidance is any instruction for S Corporation owners who pay themselves from owner’s draw or distributions. The SBA Administrator and Treasury have not released official guidance on whether owner’s draw counts toward the payroll calculation for purposes of qualifying for PPP. But an email from the SBA dated April 6, 2020 states, “Only payroll costs in the form of salary, wages, tips, etc. are eligible for the PPP program. Owner draws, distributions, amounts recorded on a K-1 are not eligible for the PPP program.” An SBA webinar I recently attended stated the same information so it appears to be an official position of the SBA.
Sole Proprietors and Independent Contractors
Sole proprietors who don’t have a formal business structure must report their business income and expenses when they file their personal tax returns. Most will use Schedule C to do that. The SBA recently issued guidance indicating that those who file Form 1040 Schedule C should use information from their 2019 Schedule C to qualify. Specifically they should use the net profit from Line 31 of their 2019 Schedule C. (The 2019 return doesn’t have to be filed but it should be completed.)
Here is the step-by-step guidance for businesses that file Schedule C with no employees (including independent contractors, but not partnerships):
Step 1: Find your 2019 IRS Form 1040 Schedule C line 31 net profit amount (if you have not yet filed a 2019 return, fill it out and compute the value). If this amount is over $100,000, reduce it to $100,000. If this amount is zero or less, you are not eligible for a PPP loan.
Step 2: Calculate the average monthly net profit amount (divide the amount from Step 1 by 12).
Step 3: Multiply the average monthly net profit amount from Step 2 by 2.5.
Step 4: Add the outstanding amount of any Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) made between January 31, 2020 and April 3, 2020 that you seek to refinance, less the amount of any advance under an EIDL COVID-19 loan (because it does not have to be repaid).
Documentation: Your 2019 IRS Form 1040 Schedule C must be provided to substantiate the applied-for PPP loan amount. You must also provide a 2019 IRS Form 1099-MISC detailing nonemployee compensation received (box 7), invoice, bank statement, or book of record establishing you were self-employed in 2019 and a 2020 invoice, bank statement, or book of record establishing you were in operation on February 15, 2020.
Partnerships
Here is the Treasury guidance for calculating the maximum amount that can be borrowed for partnerships. Treasury notes that “partners’ self-employment income should be included on the partnership’s PPP loan application, individual partners may not apply for separate PPP loans”:
Step 1: Compute 2019 payroll costs by adding the following:
- 2019 Schedule K-1 (IRS Form 1065) Net earnings from self-employment of individual U.S. based general partners that are subject to self-employment tax, computed from box 14a (reduced by any section 179 expense deduction claimed, unreimbursed partnership expenses claimed, and depletion claimed on oil and gas properties) multiplied by 0.9235* up to $100,000 per partner (if 2019 schedules have not been filed, fill them out);
- 2019 gross wages and tips paid to your employees whose principal place of residence is in the United States, if any, which can be computed using 2019 IRS Form 941 Taxable Medicare wages & tips (line 5c-column 1) from each quarter plus any pre-tax employee contributions for health insurance or other fringe benefits excluded from Taxable Medicare wages & tips, subtracting any amounts paid to any individual employee in excess of $100,000 and any amounts paid to any employee whose principal place of residence is outside the U.S;
- 2019 employer contributions for employee health insurance, if any (portion of IRS Form 1065 line 19 attributable to health insurance);
- 2019 employer contributions to employee retirement plans, if any (IRS Form 1065 line 18); and
- 2019 employer state and local taxes assessed on employee compensation, primarily state unemployment insurance tax (from state quarterly wage reporting forms), if any.
Step 2: Calculate the average monthly payroll costs (divide the amount from Step 1 by 12).
Step 3: Multiply the average monthly payroll costs from Step 2 by 2.5.
Step 4: Add any outstanding amount of any EIDL made between January 31, 2020 and April 3, 2020 that you seek to refinance, less the amount of any advance under an EIDL COVID-19 loan (because it does not have to be repaid).
Documentation: The partnership’s 2019 IRS Form 1065 (including K-1s) and other relevant supporting documentation if the partnership has employees, including the 2019 IRS Form 941 and state quarterly wage unemployment insurance tax reporting form from each quarter (or equivalent payroll processor records or IRS Wage and Tax Statements) along with records of any retirement or health insurance contributions, must be provided to substantiate the applied-for PPP loan amount. If the partnership has employees, a payroll statement or similar documentation from the pay period that covered February 15, 2020 must be provided to establish the partnership was in operation and had employees on that date. If the partnership has no employees, an invoice, bank statement, or book of record establishing the partnership was in operation on February 15, 2020 must instead be provided.
* The guidance states, “This treatment follows the computation of self-employment tax from IRS Form 1040 Schedule SE Section A line 4 and removes the “employer” share of self-employment tax, consistent with how payroll costs for employees in the partnership are determined.”
LLCs
LLCs may report their business income in various ways. Sole member LLCs typically file Schedule C and are treated as sole proprietors by the IRS. The guidance from Treasury is brief: “LLCs should follow the instructions that apply to their tax filing situation, for example, whether they file as a sole proprietor, a partnership, or a corporation.”
Nonprofits
Treasury guidance released April 24, 2020 states “the following methodology should be used to calculate the maximum amount that can be borrowed for eligible nonprofit organizations (eligible nonprofit religious institutions, see the next question):
Step 1: Compute 2019 payroll costs by adding the following:
- 2019 gross wages and tips paid to your employees whose principal place of residence is in the United States, which can be computed using 2019 IRS Form 941 Taxable Medicare wages & tips (line 5c-column 1) from each quarter plus any pre-tax employee contributions for health insurance or other fringe benefits excluded from Taxable Medicare wages & tips, subtracting any amounts paid to any individual employee in excess of $100,000 and any amounts paid to any employee whose principal place of residence is outside the U.S;
- 2019 employer health insurance contributions (portion of IRS Form 990 Part IX line 9 attributable to health insurance);
- 2019 employer retirement contributions (IRS Form 990 Part IX line 8); and
- 2019 employer state and local taxes assessed on employee compensation, primarily state unemployment insurance tax (from state quarterly wage reporting forms).
Step 2: Calculate the average monthly payroll costs (divide the amount from Step 1 by 12).
Step 3: Multiply the average monthly payroll costs from Step 2 by 2.5.
Step 4: Add the outstanding amount of any EIDL made between January 31, 2020 and April 3, 2020 that you seek to refinance, less the amount of any advance under an EIDL COVID-19 loan (because it does not have to be repaid).
Documentation: The nonprofit organization’s 2019 IRS Form 941 and state quarterly wage unemployment insurance tax reporting form from each quarter (or equivalent payroll processor records or IRS Wage and Tax Statements), along with the filed IRS Form 990 Part IX or other documentation of any retirement and health insurance contributions, must be provided to substantiate the applied-for PPP loan amount. A payroll statement or similar documentation from the pay period that covered February 15, 2020 must be provided to establish you were in operation and had employees on that date. Eligible nonprofits that do not file an IRS Form 990, typically those with gross receipts less than $50,000, should see the next question.
Nonprofit Religious Organizations, Veteran’s Organizations and Tribal Businesses
Here are the instructions from Treasury to calculate the maximum amount that can be borrowed for eligible nonprofit religious institutions, veterans organizations and tribal businesses:
Step 1: Compute 2019 payroll costs by adding the following:
- 2019 gross wages and tips paid to your employees whose principal place of residence is in the United States, which can be computed using 2019 IRS Form 941 Taxable Medicare wages & tips (line 5c-column 1) from each quarter plus any pre-tax employee contributions for health insurance or other fringe benefits excluded from Taxable Medicare wages & tips, subtracting any amounts paid to any individual employee in excess of $100,000 and any amounts paid to any employee whose principal place of residence is outside the U.S;
- 2019 employer health insurance contributions; o 2019 employer retirement contributions and
- 2019 employer state and local taxes assessed on employee compensation, primarily state unemployment insurance tax (from state quarterly wage reporting forms).
Step 2: Calculate the average monthly payroll costs (divide the amount from Step 1 by 12).
Step 3: Multiply the average monthly payroll costs from Step 2 by 2.5.
Step 4: Add any outstanding amount of any EIDL made between January 31, 2020 and April 3, 2020 that you seek to refinance, less the amount of any advance under an EIDL COVID-19 loan (because it does not have to be repaid).
Documentation: The entity’s 2019 IRS Form 941 and state quarterly wage unemployment insurance tax reporting form from each quarter (or equivalent payroll processor records or IRS Wage and Tax Statements), along with documentation of any retirement and health insurance contributions, must be provided to substantiate the applied-for PPP loan amount. A payroll statement or similar documentation from the pay period that covered February 15, 2020 must be provided to establish you were in operation and had employees on that date.
Doing the Math
The basic calculation for PPP is 2.5 time average monthly payroll. Before you apply, make sure you understand what qualifies as payroll as it may include more than simply wages. See What Does Payroll Include? in our FAQs about CARES Act PPP loans.
This article was originally written on April 23, 2020 and updated on November 12, 2020.
Hello – my boyfriend operates a wedding band entertainment company. He is the the only employee. It is a 1120S, He is paid from the profits via K-1. He reported his band income (2019) on a Schedule E. No other type of income was reported on the Schedule E. He can’t figure out how to apply for a PPP loan to provide the proper documentation. All of the bands weddings and other events were cancelled during 2020.
Arlette – This document explains how to calculate PPP loan amount and apply based on business type. (I assume he is applying for his first PPP loan?) The lender can help him understand what he needs to qualify. I’d encourage him to apply soon as the current deadline of March 31, 2021 for approvals is approaching. Nav is matching borrowers to PPP loans if he wants to get started.
My wife and I have a Gift shop organized as a partnership LLC . We have not been collecting a salary over the last 4 years as we grow our business, instead rolling funds back into the business as owner equity. During Covid we had to shut down for 2.5 months, yet expanded hours and opened 7 days a week to recoup those losses. We never took a salary. We bypassed last years PPP because we didn’t qualify. From what I read we are now eligible, however looking at the PPP application I am unsure how to apply this owners equity as compensation that would justify the PPP? Could you be more explicit on how owners equity can be justification for the PPP program?
Joel – I assume you don’t have employees? The calculation for partnerships is found on page four of this guidance. (Just keep in mind you can use EITHER 2019 OR 2020.)
Also today is February 22nd and the Biden administration announced they will make some changes for those who are self-employed. We don’t have details yet – stay tuned.
What if you been uding your personnel account for business until paperwork came
You mean you have been using your personal account for your business? That isn’t a disqualifier but if your business is very new it may be difficult to qualify. I recommend you read this new PPP loans article to understand this program and whether you may qualify.
So I’ve had this idea about starting up my business I attempted this on March of 2020 and when Covid19 hit, lets just say, that I was grounded before I even had got started. So now I started to construct a business idea on paper. I’m waiting on an ein from the its. I’m also waiting on my paperwork from the from the Authority LLC for my official company name. I’ve been doing research on my idea and it can be a a profitable business if I get everything in order and work my butt off. I have a part time job and I’m going to Strayer University online for business administration concentrating in entrepreneurship. So I would like to make my idea into reality. How can I get that rolling and what do I have to do so I can do it correctly? I would like to start my food truck idea but I’m not sure what I need to do so I can do it correctly. Can you help me?
Christopher – the best thing I can recommend for you to right now is to contact your local Small Business Development Center and/or SCORE chapter. They provide free mentoring for business owners like you. Find your local office at SBA.gov/tools. I would also recommend you read our 14-step checklist for making your business legit. It sounds like you’ve started those steps, which is great!
Hello, I just had my ppp loan deposited in my account. My business entity is a partnership which I own 97% of the business and the other 3% belong to my partner with no employee. My question is, what is the best way to pay myself so the loan is forgiven. Thanks.
John – this article should help: How to Fill out the PPP Forgiveness Application EZ Form
As and owner of a small LLC business can I pay myself
Yes for work you do in the business.
I am a small business owner that applied for PPP based on my owners draw and got the amount approved. Now that I have the funds, can I take it as an owner’s draw or do I need to run it as a payroll and file the 941’s and 940. Please reply. Thank you for your kind assistance.
You can pay yourself as you normally do – keep good records.
I am a small business owner that has an LLC construction business. I file my taxes as an S-corporation and I recently heard under the PPP that if needed owners can pay themselves and/or employees up to $900 extra per week in wages/salaries if desired and needed to make up the 75% of the loan. Is this true?
Thank you
There is no prohibition on paying extra that I am aware of as long as it doesn’t increase compensation beyond the $100,000 cap per employee. But this is really a question for your accountant.
My question is, as a sole prop, is it ok to have the PPP funds transferred in weekly (or however many) increments during the 8 wks. from a business checking account to a personal checking account, or do I actually have to write myself a PHYSICAL check each time?
There’s nothing that says a physical check is required.
I am a member of a 2 member LLC ( my daughter) we just started our business this year prior to 02/15/2020 and made under $1000.00 prior to the covid-a9 and $0.00 since. Question is do we qualify for the SBA PPP? The reason I asked is we did apply and was told every requested document was great except we didn’t have the “required” 941 but we do not use 941 just our 1040 schedule C Can you please shed some light on this for me pleeeeease.
Thanks in Advance
Ron – new PPP loans are out including second draw loans. This should help.
I am a sole-proprietor with employees. When i applied for the PPP i was only asked to provide the average payroll based on the W-3 form. This does not take into account my own self-employment earnings. Can I use the PPP funds to pay employees and myself, or does all 75% have to go towards employee wages for it to be forgiven?
Owners may pay themselves as long as they follow the guidelines.
Hi Ms. Detweiler,
I am the only employee and only owner of an S Corporation. Can I receive unemployment benefits and PPP loan at the same time?
PPP may impact your unemployment benefits. Contact your state unemployment agency for more information.
Hello. I’’m working in the restaurant during covid unit now As The owner accepted PPP loan . She said i will get payroll 1700 ( 2weeks)which was included PpP and salary . On the hand my friends didn.t work , got the same amount 1700 .
My question Should i received momey PPP and plus salary .?
Waiting for reply
Best regard
Employees don’t actually have to be working at their workplace for their employer to pay them through PPP.
If we laid off employees back in January and Feb, long before the PPP was announced and before we applied, do we have to bring back those employees? The headcount and monthly payroll for 2019 would be higher than recent months. Can we hire new employees?
Steve –
We haven’t seen any guidance that says you cannot hire new employees. So it would seem that would be a logical strategy. We’re still waiting for more forgiveness guidance from Treasury and SBA.
As owners, we were not taking draw or paycheck through payroll of our C-Corp. Can we put ourselves back on payroll? This would ensure we meet the head count and that we spend 75% of our PPP loan on payroll.
As with the other answer, I haven’t seen anything prohibiting this. Reminder that all salaries are limited to $100,000 for PPP forgiveness purposes.
Thank you, Gerri. As owners, we’re only considering $1000/month. For the 8 weeks period of the PPP to gain forgiveness, this would be very small single digit percent of the 75% target. As we’ve read the guidance, we just want to ensure we are above # of emplyees and $$$ of payroll for the 75%.
You’re welcome. We’ll update the forgiveness article when guidance is released.
Hello, does an owner’s draw count toward the $100k salary cap for forgiveness purposes or only the taxed payroll of an owner?
Information about owner’s draw and what counts as potentially forgivable compensation has come out in various guidance from SBA and Treasury. It’s complicated though and may depend on ownership and business structure. If you pay yourself a payroll salary plus owner’s draw I’d recommend you get professional advice to make sure you properly apply for forgiveness.
I file as s-corp with myself as the only employee. I don’t draw a salary every month and didn’t the period of 2/15/2020. I do pay all payroll and taxes later in the year. How do I provide the documentation for business open and has employees?
You will need to talk with the lender to see if they can accept payroll statements from a prior and subsequent period.
Thank you for all the information in this article. I own a business that is a general partnership. We have two partners who have K-1s, but only one part time employee wiht a W-2, so it is our partners self employment income our loan will be based on. But, I can not find a lender whose application seems to accept partner’s income on their PPP application. Is there a lender you know of who is accepting applications where the K-1 can be included to determine the loan amount? thank you very much!
Jeff – They lenders may be going on their understanding of SBA guidance. This is more recent guidance from Treasury on how to apply for PPP by business type.
I have one question. Can my PPP loan for S cooperation will be forgiven?
Helena – please read our article on this topic: How to Apply For Forgiveness for Your Paycheck Protection Program Loan
I have group daycare home in Illinois and always file as a sole proprietor. I do not take a salary, but instead just pay my 5 employees on a 941 and keep what’s left as profit. We have been shut down by the state of Illinois since mid-March. I worked for a month alone at my business with just a couple of essential workers kids, but now, even they are gone. I did a lot of renovations last year for our 3 year inspection by DCFS and upgrade equipment and furnishings. So for the first time in 24 years of business, I had a loss. My employees are all on unemployment. I am the only one who is working to implement changes to the daycare structure to allow for social distancing when we return in a month or two or three? With the ability to draw a salary during this time, I could not only afford to make those changes to my daycare facility, but also be ready when it’s time to open the doors. Without it, I will probably need to close my doors to 20 children and their families, who are all counting on me to reopen. Is it possible to keep my employees on unemployment, pay myself and the one employee who is actually willing to come back, and be ready to reopen? According to the PPP guidelines, I need to bring all 5 of them back and have no paycheck of any kind during all this. I have been approved for the PPP Loan, but haven’t accepted it yet because there’s no work to be done during quarantine since no kids can return right now. I am the only employee and yet the only one who can’t draw a salary, according to the guidelines. Can I apply for Pandemic Unemployment and qualify with a loss from last year? I have no financial support right now and will likely need to fold without some support. Any help you can give me would be exceptional.
We’re so sorry to hear what you are going through Todd and Amanda.
First, you could consider taking PPP and just using it as a loan. That may not be ideal but the interest rate is 1% with a 2 year repayment period. There have been many appeals to adjust the program for business owners like you for whom the current version is not a good fit, but we have no idea where those efforts will go. We also wrote about rejecting PPP in this article: 5 Reasons to Return Your PPP Loan
Another option would be to return PPP and try to get unemployment. We can’t guarantee you’ll qualify but it may be worth exploring. We wrote about it in this article: FAQs about unemployment for the self-employed
We hope one of these programs (or a future one) helps your business survive.
Cassie ,, I’m confused! I work for a corporate Aspen. With a dr partner The Dr called back workers with the ppp loan . Everyone I the office is getting their 40 hours plus hazard paid . Except me ,,, but the corporate saids I’m not under her loan. And I work in her office Which when I got paided it was under her name instead of Admi who normally signs my checks . So finally my question is I’m I supposed to get the 40 hours that all the staff is getting under her loan because I’m only getting half the hours the whole month of May because they tell me I’m not under the loan she got ! Any suggestions? Thank you !!
My son and own a Sub Chapter S Corp. for 45 years. I’m 75 and take a monthly draw to pay my bills for my wife and I. We have a PPP to help out our employees. Instead of taking a draw, can I take a payroll check equaling my draw.
Dennis – Our best advice is to discuss this guidance on how to calculate PPP amounts by business type with your accounting professional. If you have just been taking owner’s draw without paying payroll taxes on that amount, then it is our understanding it wouldn’t count for PPP forgiveness. Again, please talk with your accountant.
I own a medical corporation (C Corp) and a management corporation (LLC) which both pay me a salary of around $8k per month each. I saw the maximum allowable salary is $100,000 per year. Being that they are two separate corporations am I allowed to continue paying myself that amount and have it eligible for forgiveness?
John – we haven’t seen guidance on that question. My gut instinct is that would not be allowed as it would be considered a windfall but since we haven’t seen guidance one way or the other we simply can’t advise.
Hi Gerri. Quick question, I received PPP money but am still making some income, just at a reduced rate. Will this have any impact on my ability to get the money forgiven after the 8 weeks? Thanks.
Lucas – PPP forgiveness is based on how you spend the funds. Other revenue into your business isn’t a factor. We discussed it in a lot more detail in this article:
How to Apply For Forgiveness for Your Paycheck Protection Program Loan
Question: I’ve received my PPP loan. It was less than expected but I am happy to receive as I know some people are still waiting. My question is, as an independent contractor/sole proprietor, I pay myself. How do I document this so that the loan is forgivable? Is it as simple as writing a check, weekly, from my business account to my personal account?
Cassie – we haven’t seen specific guidance yet on what’s required for self employed individuals to document spending for PPP. But what we’ve seen from CPAs and other advisors, it does seem to make sense to create a clear paper trail and writing checks from your business could help there. I’m sorry we can’t be more specific until the SBA and Treasury provide more guidance.
Gerri, thank you for your response as well your efforts to inform us on these new guidelines. It is much appreciated.
You are so welcome! We’ll update these stories when new information is available.
We are a LLC I get 1one paycheck at end off year and other wise we just draw from Business acct. How do I pay myself and Husband with the PPP loan?
Kathy – We haven’t seen specific guidance yet from the SBA and Treasury on how self employed must verify how they use the funds but we’ve seen accounting professionals suggest a paper trail with business checks demonstrating how you use the funds.
I am a single member LLC (sole proprietor) and received a PPP loan. I used the schedule C Net Profit Method; but also added my HealthCare.Gov Insurance Premiums for 2 months
(I was a little confused on what is payroll, etc..). I received the loan! What are your recommendations? It appears now, after more guidelines have been issued, I should not have received the Insurance Premiums as part of the loan. Is there a method to return a portions of the loan (the extra amt for Insurance Premiums)?
Check with your lender about how to return the excess amount. We haven’t seen specific guidance from the SBA or Treasury about that yet.
I am a contractor for a company and I receive a 1099. I am approved for a ppp loan. How do I show that I paid my own salary with the loan? If my salary was over 100K would my whole loan be forgiven? Or just 8 weeks of up to 100K? The loan amount is for almost 11 weeks of up to 100K.
Jacob – the guidance from the SBA on those questions is in the
SBA supplement to the Interim Final Rule (self-employed). It’s not the easiest read but it may help answer your questions.
First of all NAV has been a lifesaver throughout all of this! The Facebook NAV group has been a great resource. My question is very similar to Jschoef down below. Kabbage actually just emailed me that my loan has been approved by the SBA! I’m setup as a single member LLC. My business income is deposited into a personal checking account at our credit union for the past 5 years. We just use the personal checking account as an everyday checking account. I’m thinking about opening a business account just for the PPP Loan. I would only have the PPP funds in this account. Would I write a check in my name or the business name to pay myself? Do you think this plan would be sufficient in proving the funds being allocated properly to have the loan forgiven by the lender?
Congrats! So glad to hear that. The SBA and Treasury haven’t released specific guidance on acceptable documentation for forgiveness but your plan certainly sounds like a reasonable one. And it’s a good idea going forward to run business expenses through a business account.
I am a Sole Proprietor LLC and I know how to submit a loan application to get the PPP with a sched c. My question. Is how do I prove I used the loan to qualify for forgiveness when I don’t pay myself but just draw from the business account for personal expenses? I know this isn’t the best practice but it’s what I have been doing for the last 20 years.
The big key to make sure you get forgiveness is making sure you keep accurate records that will demonstrate you used the funds for the approved purposes. You may need to adjust how you pay yourself with this funds over the 8-week period so you can demonstrate to your lender that you used them for the approved purpose.
I am a sole proprietor taxed as a Corporation. I have a tax firm and have 3 staff members that I pay cash. I keep records of their time where they submit a signed weekly timesheet. I log their time on an excel spreadsheet as my payroll log. Can I used that log to substantiate their income when I apply for the PPP loan? Can I calculate their income also into the average monthly? I file form 1120 as well as a Personal tax 1040. When I apply do I submit my 1120 Businessl tax?
Trish, this article has the latest guidance from Treasury. (There’s a link in the article to their guidance if you want to read the original source.) It talks about how to apply for PPP by business type
Can I pay myself as a sole proprietor with funds from a PPP loan and have the loan forgiven?
That appears to be the idea. Did you see this article? Self-Employed: How To Apply For A Payroll Protection Program PPP Loan
only work part time , iam retired i have a small one man service business im a s corp for over 30 years my business lost money in 2019 i took out 18,000 dollars from my business checking account in 2019 but i dont do payroll taxes im 67 and retired. i thougt the mone deposited im my business account is already taxable, how come i have to do payroll taxes when , i had been doing that for over 30 years before i retired.
Al did you read this article about how to apply if you are self employed? Self-Employed: How To Apply For A Payroll Protection Program PPP Loan
What If your single member llc is net loss but need to the ppp to pay personal rent
It’s not likely you qualify if you showed a loss for 2019 but we can’t say that definitively. You may be able to apply for EIDL instead and contact your Senators in Washington to discuss your concerns. FAQs about applying for EIDL
I own a used car dealership. We are an LLC. My question is we have 7 employees which we pay them with a 1099. How can I apply for the PPP loan if my employees are 1099 and they get paid cash? My other question is is the PPP loan based on my net or expenses?
Maria, those you pay via 1099 are contractors not employees. You do not include them in your calculations for payroll. If you report your business income to the IRS via Form 1040 Schedule C then you can use the instructions in this article to apply. Also your contractors may apply for PPP themselves. Self-Employed: How To Apply For A Payroll Protection Program PPP Loan
This has been really great! I’m a sole member llc that does IT consulting and have recently been approved for the PPP.
A few questions:
1. My Schedule C for 2019 showed a profit ~70K but a big chunk of my expenses were traveling. Based on the PPP rules as I’ve seen them, I’m only eligible for 2months of what my salary would be based on last year. But I’m not traveling this year, and my expense/income ratio would put me over the +100K mark, and most likely make me eligible for having the entire loan forgiven. So the question is, is that taken into account? How would they be able to calculate “salary” on a sole proprietor when expenses and income can fluctuate from month to month or year to year?
2. The other 25% forgiveness (utilities, loan repayment), is it only for 2months of whatever those bills are? So if my utilities and loan interest annually are $6500 could I deduct all of that from this or just 2 months of the annualized amount?
Thanks again!
Loan qualification for the self employed Schedule C filer with no employees is based on line 31 of the 2019 tax return. It’s spelled out in the Treasury guidance on how to calculate PPP amounts by business type.
Unfortunately it doesn’t take into account other expenses that may have led to the loss.
The guidance on calculating forgiveness for the self-employed can be found in this Interim Final rule. Look at page 5 column 2: Interim Final Rule (self-employed).