Who Qualifies for First-Draw PPP Money Today?

Two things to know about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) first draw enacted on December 27, 2020:

· The first draw is for those who missed getting in on the original PPP, which expired on August 8, 2020.

· Don’t think of a PPP draw as a loan. It’s not a loan. It’s a cash infusion. You have to repay a loan. You don’t have to repay the PPP funds.

Who qualifies for first-draw PPP money today? You, most likely—if you file a business tax return and have not yet received any PPP monies.

But don’t wait. The money is going to run out fast, and once it’s gone, so is the PPP. And the new PPP ends March 31, even if the money is not gone by then.

You qualify for the PPP if any of the following are true:

· You file your taxes on Schedule C of your tax return. Businesses that file on Schedule C include independent contractors (often called 1099 folks), single-member LLCs, proprietorships, and statutory employees such as life insurance salespeople.

· You file your taxes on Schedule F (ranchers and farmers).

· You are a general partner in a partnership, but the partnership asks for and receives the money based on your and your other partners’ combined self-employment incomes, as adjusted.

· You operate as an S corporation.

· You operate as a C corporation.

· You are the only worker in the business—but if you have employees in the business, you qualify on both your ownership worker status and your employees’ W-2 status.