The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has been replenished in a fourth tranche of coronavirus aid passed by Congress this week and signed by President Donald Trump Friday. But a leading farm CPA says don’t wait a minute if you want a chunk of that money.
“If you don’t have your application in by Monday at the latest, I think you’re going to be too late,” Paul Neiffer of Clifton Larson Allen told Farm Journal Editor Clinton Griffiths on Farm Journal Live.
The first round of $350 billion in loans was snapped up in a matter of days. The fresh round of funding reserves $60 billion in loan money for smaller banks in an effort, in part, to give farmers and rural businesses more of a chance at access.
Neiffer said the program is worth investigating for most farmers and ranchers who have experienced a financial loss this year. He also warned to not believe some of the rumors floating around about eligibility.
“There’s been a rumor, most of the time I hear it from bankers, that if a farmer participates in the Paycheck Protection Program that they’re ineligible for any subsidies from USDA, and that’s not accurate as far as we know,” Neiffer said. “There’s nothing in the CARES Act that specified that farmers couldn’t participate, and actually the USDA came out with their frequently asked questions a couple of weeks ago saying specifically that farmers can participate.”
The new aid bill also clarifies that farmers are eligible for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
“That provision isn’t as nice as the Paycheck Protection Program which allows for forgiveness,” Neiffer explained. “The EIDL has up to $10,000 forgiven, but it’s based on $1,000 per employee. So, if you have a farmer that has only one employee, they’re only going to get $1,000 of that forgiven. The interest rate is 3.75%, but you’re going to deal directly with SBA, and you have to show the need for the money so it’s going to be a whole lot more paperwork involved than applying for the PPP program.”
For Neiffer’s full tips on applying for coronavirus aid, watch the recording of Farm Journal Live in the player above.
Farm Journal Live is streamed every weekday at noon Central on AgWeb.com.
