**Updated MARCH 19** WEBINAR ON MARCH 30! The SBA’s Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program.

This video put out by the Small Business Administration (SBA) gives details for eligibility, requirements and details to apply. The webinar recording is now available on SBA’s YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/PdfQGb6z-gg.

For more information on this program, visit https://www.sba.gov/coronavirusrelief or email [email protected] with your questions (please include topic in the subject line).

Link to SVOG webpage on the SBA website here.

**We will continue to update as more information develops**

**Newest Update (MARCH 19)**

Today, the Small Business Administration announced that the long-awaited Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) PORTAL will officially open on Thursday, April 8, 2021. For those interested, please register immediately for the SBA’s national webinar on SVOG that will take place on Tues., March 30, 2021 @ 2:30 – 4:00pm ET.

Newly confirmed (3/18/21) Biden-appointed SBA Administrator Isabella Guzman stated today, “Help is here for venue operators hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic…The SBA knows these venues are critical to America’s economy and understands how hard they’ve been impacted, as they were among the first to shutter. This vital economic aid will provide a much-needed lifeline for live venues, museums, movie theatres and many more.”

Americans for the Arts and the Arts Action Fund hosted a two-hour ArtsU webinar yesterday covering major components of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which included significant updates on SVOG, PPP, and more. Resources:

Payroll Protection Program (PPP) Updates & Forms:

SBA has updated all their PPP Loan Forms now to accommodate the Self-employed Schedule C filers as well as updated the certification language regarding SVOG on all PPP loan applications. It will take a few days for lenders to catch up with the update while SBA notifies them and updates their own lender portal over the weekend.

SBA Form 2483-C (3/21)  1st Draw Self-Employed, Schedule C Tax Filer requesting gross income for the loan calculus and includes the updated SVOG certification.

SBA Form 2483 (3/21)  1st Draw for all non-schedule C small businesses requesting W2 employee payroll costs for the loan calculus and includes the updates SVOG certification. 

SBA Form 2483-SD-C (3/21) 2nd Draw, Self-Employed, Schedule C Tax Filer requesting gross income for the loan calculus and includes the updated SVOG certification.

SBA Form 2483-SD (3/21)  2nd Draw for all non-schedule C small businesses requesting W2 employee payroll costs for the loan calculus and includes the updated SVOG certification.

Important Notes:

  1. If you are a self-employed Schedule C tax filer and you want to apply for a PPP using the new and more generous “gross revenue” calculations, then you must use the new “C” forms. Neither SBA nor your lender will modify your application for you.  If you have not been funded your new PPP yet, cancel it immediately and reapply with the new C forms.
  2. There is a very good chance that Congress will be extending the PPP deadline in the next few days from March 31st to May 31st, but it is not a done deal yet.  Please remember, you must apply for a PPP before applying for an SVOG. The SVOG portal does not open until April 8th.
  3. When determining your gross or earned revenue for an SVOG in 2020 and 2021, do not recognize any federal COVID relief funds like PPP, EIDL, EIDL Advances, State and Local CARES Act funds, PUA, NEA grants, etc.  You do not have to recognize these funds as revenue.
  4. IRS has extended the deadline to file your 2020 individual tax return this year, moving it from April 15, 2021 to May 17, 2021. However, the great majority of states have not extended their state tax return deadlines. Be mindful if you need to file an extension.
  5. The Biden Administration has deferred repayment of EIDL loans by an additional 12 months for a total of 24 months. Payment plans that would have begun this month will now automatically be deferred to March 2022.
  6. Check the status of your stimulus payment from the IRS.
  7. If you receive unemployment assistance in 2020, the American Rescue Plan Act retroactively allows you to not recognize the first $10,200 from federal-only tax withholding. You would have received a Tax Form 1099-G for you to report the unemployment assistance that your received as ordinary income on your 1040. The IRS is quickly working to update their tax filing portals and forms so that you can request a refund on the federal taxes that you already paid on your 2020 unemployment assistance. If you have not filed yet, please wait a little longer.  If you have already filed, please do not amend your tax return yet. IRS is developing a fast way to refund you. The $10,200 rule applies for the current 2021 tax year as well.

Be sure to sign up for the SBA’s new SVOG portal and SVOG webinar. Remember, you can always join me on Fridays at 11:00am ET for my Zoom Office Hours to ask any questions related to federal COVID relief funds.