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Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application assistance

Answers to your PPP loan application questions

The Paycheck Protection Program may help your business cover payroll and overhead expenses such as benefits, rent, mortgage interest and utilities.

As of August 8, the SBA is no longer accepting new loan applications for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). If Congress passes an additional extension of the program, we may reopen our application in the future.

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Application process
Payroll and loan calculators
Technical
General program information

Application process

To complete the SBA PPP application, we recommend that you have the following information available:

Business information:

  • EIN and incorporation documents
  • Information for all individuals with at least 20% ownership, including social security numbers and separate email addresses

Details of eligible payroll expenses:

  • Salaries, wages, tips and compensation from quarterly federal tax withholding (Forms 941), individual employee earnings (Forms W-2) or payroll provider reporting
  • Employer paid health insurance premiums
  • Employer paid retirement contributions
  • Employer paid state and local taxes (e.g., state UI)

Completed 2019 tax forms for your business (IRS Forms 1040, 1120 or 1120-S, W-3, 941)

  • If you’re a sole proprietor or independent contractor: 2019 Form 1040 Schedule C
  • For partnerships: Schedules K-1 and Form 1065
  • Completed state and/or local payroll tax forms

Documentation that you were operational on February 15, 2020

  • For sole proprietors and independent contractors: A 2020 invoice, bank statement, or book of record establishing you were operational at this time
  • For businesses with employees: Payroll statement or similar documentation from the pay period that covered February 15, 2020

The U.S. Treasury Department has released updated guidance on the supporting documents and loan calculation instructions for this program. You can reference the updated guidelines from treasury.gov about how to calculate loan amounts.

Thank you for submitting your Paycheck Protection Program application! Here are the steps that will follow as part of the loan process. Please know that we are working on your application, and will be providing you with email communication along the way.

  1. Application review | U.S. Bank will review your application. This step may require you to submit supplemental documentation and verification, based on your business situation. You will receive an email confirmation if additional information is required.
  2. Document submission | You will be receiving an email with a link and instructions to your loan portal, where you will upload specific documentation required for your loan. This will include payroll history, and other documents depending on your business specific needs.
  3. Payroll review | U.S. Bank will review payroll based on the documentation provided. We may request additional documentation or clarification via email as we go through this process.
  4. Submittal to SBA | U.S. Bank will submit your application to the SBA for review.
  5. Finalize terms and e-sign | Once your loan is confirmed by the SBA, you sign the documents electronically. You will be receiving an email to notify you that your loan is ready to sign.
  6. Funding | U.S. Bank distributes the funds via ACH to your account within 24 hours of signing.

As part of the SBA PPP application process, there is no credit check, no personal guarantee from business owners and no collateral requirements. Your business must meet the eligibility requirements of this program and provide supporting documentation to confirm the available loan amount for your company. Upon submitting to this program, you certified that your business is eligible under the Paycheck Protection Program.

Please know that we are working on your application and will be providing email updates throughout the process. We kindly ask that you allow up to three business days for us to review your initial application. You will be receiving email updates when it’s time for the next step in the process.

To make changes to information you entered on your application:

  • Adjust loan amount | Changes may be made during the next phase of your application, as you will be provided access to a loan portal, allowing you to confirm your payroll cost calculations. If you have recently submitted your initial application and have not yet received instructions and a link to the next step in the application process, please allow up to three business days to review your initial application.
  • Changes to loan amount after review | To make additional changes to your loan amount after we have conducted a review of your payroll documents, email sbapppcertification@usbank.com. Please include the additional documentation to support the loan amount adjustment.
  • Changes to business information | For additional changes to your application beyond the loan amount requested, please email the pppapplicationchange@usbank.com with details of your requested change. Be sure to include the name of the business and full owner’s name so we may reference the application.

We will be communicating updates on your application via email. If you have a passcode, you can also continue the application process by logging in to your account with your account ID or the passcode we sent via email.

Within a few days of submitting your initial application, you will receive an email with instructions and a link to access your loan portal. Within your loan portal, you will have the opportunity to upload your supporting documents. You may revisit this loan portal at any time to verify documents you have uploaded, provide additional information, and check the status of your application. If you have misplaced the original link that was sent to you, you may access the loan portal and request a passcode. 

Once you have finalized and signed your PPP loan agreement, you can expect funding to the account you designated on the application within 1-2 business days.

If you would like to cancel your application, please email a request to the sbapppcertification@usbank.com team with your request. Please include the full name of your business, and the full owner’s name so we may reference your application.

A physical address is required for the business and individual owners.

  • For PO boxes, use your physical business address. You will have the option to add a PO box at a later stage in the application.
  • Ensure you have verified the accuracy of the address. If the problem persists, you’ll be able to proceed with the application after the third attempt.
  • If you have a mailing address that is different than your business physical address, enter your physical business address. There will be an option later within the application to enter a separate mailing address.

The error message occurred because the information entered does not match our internal system records. If you continue to receive an error message, you may select “Proceed without logging in” when prompted to enter your online credentials.

Payroll and loan calculations

Per the SBA guidelines for this program, the loan amount a business may request will be based on the average monthly payroll cost, multiplied by 2.5x. While rent, utilities, and other expenses may be a suitable use of the loan proceeds, they are not included in the calculation of the loan amount. Please reference the question below, “What can I include in my payroll costs?”

The U.S. Treasury Department has released updated guidance on the supporting documents and loan calculation instructions for this program. You can reference the updated guidelines from treasury.gov about how to calculate loan amounts.

During the next stage of your application, you will have the opportunity to break down your payroll costs and provide supporting documentation through your loan portal. You may make changes to your payroll cost calculation at this time. If you have submitted your application and have not yet received a link to your loan portal, please allow up to three business days for us to review your initial application and provide you instructions on the next step.

To make additional changes to your loan amount after we have conducted a review of your payroll documents, email sbapppcertification@usbank.com. Please include the additional documentation to support the loan amount adjustment.

The loan amount through this program will be based upon your average monthly payroll cost for the last 12 months, multiplied by a 2.5x factor. We have provided this guidance below:

  • Payroll salary, wages, commissions, or similar compensation;
  • Cash tips or the equivalent (based on employer records of past tips or, in the absence of such records, a reasonable, good-faith employer estimate of such tips);
  • Payment for vacation, parental, family, medical, or sick leave;
  • Allowance for separation or dismissal;
  • Payment for the provision of employee benefits consisting of group health care coverage, including insurance premiums, and retirement;
  • Payment of state and local taxes assessed on compensation of employees; and for an independent contractor or sole proprietor, wage, commissions, income, or net earnings from self-employment or similar compensation.
  • Most applicants will use the average monthly payroll for 2019, excluding costs over $100,000 on an annualized basis for each employee.
  • For seasonal businesses, you may use the average monthly payroll expenses for the time period between February 15, 2019 and June 30, 2019, excluding costs over $100,000 on an annualized basis for each employee.
  • For new businesses, you may use the average monthly payroll expenses for the time period between January 1, 2020 to February 29, 2020, excluding costs over $100,000 on an annualized basis for each employee.

Our initial application will allow you to enter an estimated loan amount and the steps for calculating that loan amount are below. Please note, you will be given an opportunity during the next phase of the application to confirm your payroll costs and adjust your calculated eligible loan amount.

  1. Aggregate payroll costs from the last twelve months for employees whose principal place of residence is the United States.
  2. Subtract any compensation paid to an employee in excess of an annual salary of $100,000 and/or any amounts paid to an independent contractor or sole proprietor in excess of $100,000 per year.
  3. Calculate average monthly payroll costs (divide the amount from Step 2 by 12).
  4. Multiply the average monthly payroll costs from Step 3 by 2.5.
  5. Add the outstanding amount of an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) made between January 31, 2020 and April 3, 2020, less the amount of any “advance” under an EIDL COVID-19 loan (because it does not have to be repaid).

Technical questions and support

Updates that you receive during the application process will come from 1800USBanks@email.usbank.com, please make sure that your email settings will allow receipt from this address. Additionally, during the process of reviewing the supporting documents that you provide, you may receive a direct email from one of our Verification Specialists.

To troubleshoot accessing your loan portal, please attempt the following solutions:

  • Clear your internet browser cookies and cache, and try again.
  • If logging in using the “Account ID” option, please ensure that you are using the online banking credentials that you used during the original application process. If you’ve forgotten your user ID or password, please select the “Forgot ID / Password” option to reset.
  • If logging in using the passcode that was provided to you via email, please verify that the information you are entering matched exactly to what was initially placed on the application:
    • Last name is case sensitive and must include hyphens if originally included on the application
    • Email address should match the email address the passcode was sent to, in the case you originally entered a business and personal email address on the application
    • Birth date must match exactly to what was entered on the application
    • Last 4-digits of the Social Security number of the applicant that submitted the initial application. For multi-owner applications, this will be the SSN for the owner that submitted the initial application.

Please ensure that you are using the passcode which was provided to you in the most recent email and not one from a prior message you received.

If you’re a co-owner in a business with more than two owners and are not the submitter, you will not receive an email once application is submitted. Please reach out to the submitting owner for additional information.

If you’re a co-owner in a business with two owners, you will receive an email once the submitting owner completes the application. If you’re having trouble accessing the application, use these trouble shooting tips:

  1. Clear your internet browser cookies and cache and try again using the link that you received via email.
  2. If you have not received the email:
    • Please check your spam folder for an email from 1800USBanks@alerts.usbank.com.
    • Please verify with the original submitter of the application the exact email that was used.
  3. If logging in using the passcode that was provided to you via email, please verify that the information you are entering matched exactly to what was initially placed on the application:
    • Last name is case sensitive and must include hyphens if originally included on the application
    • Email address should match the email address the passcode was sent to, in the case you originally entered a business and personal email address on the application
    • Birth date must match exactly to what was entered on the application
    • Last 4-digits of the Social Security number of the applicant that submitted the initial application. For multi-owner applications, this will be the SSN for the owner that submitted the initial application.
  4. Please ensure that you are using the passcode that was provided to you in the most recent email, and not one from a prior message you received

  • The loan portal can accept PDF file types, with a maximum file size of 100MB. 
  • If you are attempting to upload a different file type, please convert the file to PDF and try again.
  • If the file size of the document is greater than 100MB, you can separate the file into multiple PDF files and attempt to upload again.

Please check your spam folder for an email from 1800USBanks@alerts.usbank.com. While uncommon, it can take up to 24 hours to receive your link to complete the next stage of your application, which would include access to the digital loan portal.

General program questions

The PPP is a federal loan program that helps small and medium-sized businesses impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) to assist with covering costs related to payroll (including healthcare and certain related expenses), mortgage interest, rent, leases, utilities and interest on existing debt. The loan is an SBA 7(a) loan with the following terms:

  • 1.00% fixed interest rate
  • Loan amounts up to 2.5x average covered monthly payroll costs and not to exceed $10 million
  • No fees
  • No prepayment penalties
  • No business collateral or personal guarantee required
  • Loan forgiveness for eligible payroll, mortgage interest, rent and utilities during the covered eight-week period after origination
  • Payments are deferred for six months.

The Paycheck Protection Program is part of an economic stimulus package known as the CARES Act.

Loans are to be used for payroll costs (excluding amounts above a prorated annual salary of $100,000 for employees who make more than that amount), mortgage/debt interest, rent and utilities and refinancing an SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) made between January 31, 2020 - April 3, 2020. Please reference the Application Process section for additional guidance and calculation instructions.

For other questions, please call the Business Service Center at 800-673-3555.

Addtional resources and education

The application process for the SBA PPP loan will be online. There will be no need to call U.S. Bank or visit one of our branches. For assistance, you may send an email to our dedicated team at sbappp@usbank.com. They will be available to respond to questions related to this program and the application process. Additionally, if you work directly with a U.S. Bank Business Banker, you may contact them for additional guidance.

For additional information, please visit:

  • Small Business Administration website
  • U.S. Treasury Paycheck Protection Program website

Stay informed with us.

Start today with our inquiry form and we’ll email you as soon as you can begin the digital application process. Please watch for email communication from us for updated information on your inquiry.

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Subject to credit approval and program guidelines. SBA loans are subject to SBA eligibility guidelines. Certain restrictions apply to refinancing options and are subject to program terms. Refinances of existing SBA loans are excluded.

Financing maximums and terms are determined by borrower qualifications and use of funds. U.S. Bank and its representatives do not provide tax advice. Consult an advisor regarding a particular financial situation. Credit products are offered by U.S. Bank National Association.

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