BATON ROUGE - The U.S. Treasury issued guidance for business owners interested in assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), on Monday.

Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) is encouraging businesses to fill out the application now, in preparation for submission to an SBA-approved lender starting April 3.

“Businesses should prepare now to apply on April 3,” said Adam Knapp, president and CEO of BRAC. “The PPP has a total appropriation of $349 billion, and we want to give lenders as much time to process the loans as possible before running up against that limit.”

The PPP provides forgivable cash-flow assistance through 100 percent federally guaranteed loans to employers who maintain their payroll during this emergency. 

Beginning April 3, small businesses and sole proprietorships can apply for and receive forgivable loans under the PPP. 

Beginning April 10, independent contractors and self-employed individuals may do the same.

Click here for a list of Capital Region SBA-approved lenders. 

Click here for a loan application.

Click here for an overview of PPP.

Details related to the loan are as follows:

-Loans can be for up to two months of average monthly payroll costs from the last year, plus an additional 25 percent of that amount, subject to a $100,000 per employee cap and a $10 million total cap

-Interest rates are fixed at 0.50 percent

-All payments are deferred for the first six months

-There are no prepayment penalties or fees

-No collateral is required

-No personal guarantee is required

-Loans are due in two years

-Each eligible entity is limited to a single PPP loan

To take advantage of loan forgiveness, loans must be used for the following, within certain time limitations:

-Payroll costs, including benefits (includes salaries, wages, commissions, tips, leave, health insurance, retirement, and state and local taxes on compensation)

-Interest on mortgages

-Rent

-Utilities

More information on the PPP can be found at brac.org/recovery.