NATIONWIDE — The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) restarts Monday, five months after the first two rounds of funding ended.

What You Need To Know

  • The Paycheck Protection Program is reopening on Monday, January 11 There is $284B in new loans

  • Congress revived the program as part of the $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill passed last month

  • Applications are initially limited to first-time borrowers, and borrowers in underserved communities get first priority

  • Click here for more information on the Paycheck Protection Program

This time around, borrowers in underserved communities will be prioritized to receive the $284 billion in new loans allocated for the program.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is initially only accepting applications submitted by community financial institutions (CFIs), which are lenders whose customers are minority-owned and economically disadvantaged businesses.

CFIs can begin submitting applications for first-time PPP borrowers Monday and second-time borrowers Wednesday. The pool will open up to all other lenders a few days later. SBA has not announced a specific date.

First-time borrowers with no more than 500 workers can borrow up to $10 million over the course of eight to 24 weeks.

Second-time borrowers can borrow up to $2 million, as long as they have no more than 300 employees and suffered at least a 25% drop in quarterly revenue.

The loans are fully forgivable, providing at least 60% to be used for payroll. Companies can use the rest for employee health benefits, rent, and other essential expenses.

Applications must be submitted online through banks and other SBA-approved lenders by March 31. Loan amounts are calculated based on a company’s payroll expenses.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.