Great news if you feel your PPP lender is making the loan forgiveness process too complicated. The SBA recently announced that they set up their own Direct Forgiveness Portal “to streamline forgiveness processing for PPP Borrowers. After registration, you may use this streamline process to automatically submit your forgiveness request to your lender.”
The SBA also offers live customer service to borrowers at 877-552-2692. More info is available at: https://directforgiveness.sba.gov./requests/borrower/login/?next=/
According to the SBA in their Press Release:
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is launching a streamlined application portal to allow borrowers with Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans $150,000 or less through participating lenders to apply for forgiveness directly through the SBA.
“The SBA’s new streamlined application portal will simplify forgiveness for millions of our smallest businesses — including many sole proprietors — who used funds from our Paycheck Protection Program loans to survive the pandemic,” said Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman. “The vast majority of businesses waiting for forgiveness have loans under $150,000. These entrepreneurs are busy running their businesses and are challenged by an overly complicated forgiveness process. We need to deliver forgiveness more efficiently so they can get back to enlivening our Main Streets, sustaining our neighborhoods and fueling our nation’s economy.”
This new change will help rush relief to over 6.5 million smallest of small businesses which has been the Administrator’s priority since day one. The new forgiveness platform will begin accepting applications from borrowers on August 4th, 2021. Lenders are required to opt-in to this program through https://directforgiveness.sba.gov. In addition to the technology platform, the SBA is standing up a PPP customer service team to answer questions and directly assist borrowers with their forgiveness applications. Borrowers that need assistance or have questions should call (877) 552-2692, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. EST.
You can find out if your lender is participating in this process at: https://www.sba.gov/document/support-ppp-lenders-participating-direct-forgiveness