FAQ - PPP Loan Forgiveness Report
While the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) concluded on May 31, 2021, borrowers with existing loans might still qualify for loan forgiveness.
Report Overview
The Beyond PPP Loan Forgiveness report is designed to assist you with completing the PPP Loan Forgiveness Application. The report is organized into two distinct sections that correspond to Schedule A and its worksheet:
- Employees hired in 2020 OR who earned less than $100,000 in 2019
- Employees who earned more than $100,000 in 2019
Â
Note: If your company was not a client of Beyond in 2019, all employees will be listed in the first section.
Frequently Asked Questions
About the Report
Can I get a printable report from Beyond to include with my PPP Loan Forgiveness application?
To provide employers with the most detailed and flexible information, we designed the report to be a downloadable file. Although it can be printed, many lenders now accept electronic documents, so we recommend submitting the report as an Excel file if possible.
Â
Am I able to edit or delete columns from your report?
You can edit the amounts in the light blue columns without unlocking the report. To make changes to other columns or delete them, you must first unlock the document. To do this, go to the “Review” tab in Excel and select “Unprotect.” The password is your client’s Beyond Company ID (CID), which is located on line 3 of the PPP Loan Forgiveness report.
Requirements
Is it mandatory for me to use your PPP Loan Forgiveness Report?
No, it is not. While our report is a useful tool, you are free to use your own report or simply enter your payroll figures into our report.
Â
When does a borrower need to apply for loan forgiveness or start making loan payments?
As of March 13, 2024, all borrowers, regardless of loan size, can use the Small Business Administration’s direct forgiveness portal.
- For loans of $150,000 and below:
- Use SBA Form 3508S PPP Loan Forgiveness Application + Instructions.
- This form does not require borrowers to provide additional documentation upon submission for forgiveness.
- Borrowers should still be prepared to provide relevant documents if requested during a loan review or audit.
- For loans over $150,000:
- Use SBA Form 3508 PPP Loan Forgiveness Application + Instructions OR SBA Form 3508EZ PPP Loan Forgiveness Application + Instructions.
- These forms do require borrowers to submit additional documentation with their application.
Â
I did not lay off any employees or reduce their salaries. Do I still need to complete the Loan Forgiveness application?
Yes. You must complete the application for your loan to be forgiven. However, you might be able to use a simplified PPP Loan Forgiveness Application form. If you’re unsure which form to use, review the instructions for each one to see if it applies to your situation, or consult with your accountant.
Â
If an employee turns down a rehire offer, does it count toward the payroll forgiveness reduction amount, the employee count, or both?
If an employee chose not to return to work, they would only be factored into the Average FTE (full-time equivalent) comparison calculation. The salary or wage reduction only applies to the reduced salaries or wages of employees who were still employed during the period. To prevent borrowers from being penalized twice, the salary or wage reduction is only applied to the portion of the decline that is not due to the FTE reduction.
Â
What about employees who took a voluntary layoff or furlough? We tried to keep them working, but they didn’t want to work due to fears about COVID-19.
If this position was not filled, you may qualify for an exemption and can include an additional FTE based on the average number of hours worked and the Covered Period you chose.
Â
How do I know if my business is eligible for the Safe Harbor exemption?
The Beyond Loan Forgiveness Report does not account for Safe Harbor exemptions. All employers should evaluate if their company meets the safe harbor exemption requirements before completing their loan forgiveness application.
Â
My company previously laid off an employee but later offered to rehire them. If the employee declined the rehire offer, will my PPP loan forgiveness amount still be reduced?
Loan forgiveness will not be reduced if the employer can document either:
- Written offers to rehire individuals who were employees on February 15, 2020; OR
- An inability to hire similarly qualified employees for unfilled positions by December 31, 2020.
What to Do if Something Looks Different
What is the difference between the covered period and the Alternative Payroll Covered Period on the application?
The Covered Period begins the day the money is deposited into your bank account. The Alternative Payroll Covered Period starts with the first payroll after you receive the funds. Only employers who pay weekly or bi-weekly can use the Alternative Payroll Covered Period.
Â
For companies with a weekly and a semi-monthly payroll, which pay period would the Alternative Payroll Covered Period be based on?
Since semi-monthly payrolls are not eligible for the Alternative Payroll Covered Period, you would have to use the original Covered Period.
Â
Can these specific positions be held by two different people if someone resigned?
If someone voluntarily resigned and you replaced them, you can only count the replacement person from that point forward in your Average FTE calculation. Double-counting is not allowed.
Â
What if the standard hours for all full-time employees are 35, not 40? Would they all be considered part-time?
The loan application instructions define an FTE as an employee working 40 hours or more. In this situation, each employee would count as 0.9 if you choose this option; otherwise, using the simpler approach, your employee would count as 0.5. Note that the comparable lookback periods calculate an FTE the same way, so if the employee’s hours were not reduced, there should be no impact on the number of FTEs.
Â
I have some hourly employees who didn’t come back to work. How do I account for them?
In this case, these employees do not count toward the wage reduction calculation; they are only included in the FTE reduction calculation.
Â
How will the determination of whether my business has maintained staffing levels be made?
The average number of FTEs during the Covered Period or Alternative Payroll Covered Period will be compared to one of two time frames: either February 15 through June 30, 2019, or January 1 through February 29, 2020.
Beyond's Calculation Methods
How does Beyond calculate the payroll costs in the covered period?
The report calculates payroll costs incurred within the relevant 8-week or 24-week period. Payroll runs that include days both inside and outside the 8- or 24-week window will be prorated based on the number of days within the pay period. (blue section – column C – column H)
Example: An employee earned $500 over a two-week period from 3/29 to 4/11, but the “Covered Period” began on 4/10. This means only two days from this pay period should be included in the PPP Loan report. Prorated payroll costs are determined by calculating the daily rate. Since two days fall within the covered period, Beyond calculates 2 x $35.71 = $71.43.
- Pay Period: 3/29/20 — 4/11/2020
- Period Gross Pay: $500
- Total days in the pay period: 14
- Daily rate: $500 / 14 = $35.71
- Covered Period begins: 4/10/2020
- Number of days in the covered period: 2
- Covered payroll cost: 2 x $35.71 = $71.43
Note: If you have not processed all payrolls within the relevant period, this report may be incomplete.
Â
How does Beyond calculate the potential forgiveness reduction amount (column S)?
For hourly employees, the reduction in their hourly rate is multiplied by their average weekly hours from Quarter 1 of 2020, and then by 8 or 24, depending on the length of the covered period. For salaried employees, the reduction in their average annual salary is multiplied by 8 or 24, depending on the length of the covered period.
- Hourly Employee Calculation Method:
- Multiply the rate from the lookback period (column P) by 0.75.
- Subtract the average hourly rate from the covered period (column J) from the result of step 1.
- Divide the total hours from the lookback period (column Q) by 13 to determine the average hours worked per week between 1/1/2020 and 3/31/2020.
- Multiply the result of step 2 by the result of step 3.
- Multiply the result of step 4 by the number of weeks in the covered period (either 8 or 24).
The amount calculated in step 5 is your potential wage reduction for the hourly employee.
- Salaried Employee Calculation Method:
- Multiply the average annual salary from the lookback period (column O) by 0.75.
- Take the average annual salary from the covered period (column I) and subtract it from the result of step 1.
- Multiply the result of step 2 by the number of weeks in the covered period (either 8 or 24).
- Divide the result of step 3 by 52 weeks.
The amount calculated in step 4 is your potential wage reduction for the salaried employee.
Safe Harbor
The FTE/Wage reduction safe harbor provides an exemption from the loan forgiveness reduction based on FTE employee levels for certain borrowers. A borrower is exempt if both of the following conditions are met:
- The borrower reduced its FTE employee levels between February 15, 2020, and April 26, 2020; AND
- The borrower then restored its FTE employee levels by no later than June 30, 2020, to the levels in the pay period that included February 15, 2020.
The Beyond report does not account for the safe harbor exemptions. All employers should evaluate if their company meets the safe harbor exemption requirements before completing their loan forgiveness application.
Â
When calculating the amount of loan forgiveness, how will it be determined whether my business has maintained pay levels?
Employers might be required to repay part of the loan if an employee’s average annual salary or average hourly rate is reduced by 25% or more during the Covered Period or Alternative Payroll Covered Period, compared to the period from January 1 through March 31, 2020.
Please note that as COVID-19 legislation can change, you should always refer to IRS guidance for the most current information.
Need Help?
If you still have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Our team will be happy to provide answers and assist you in any way we can.