1. The 8 week covered period during which authorized spending would be forgiven, beginning on the date of the origination of a covered loan, is now the earlier of:
   
   1. The date that is 24 weeks after such origination or
   2. December 31, 2020
2. Elimination of the number of employees deadline is now extended until December 31, 2020. This gives employers additional time to restore the full-time employee equivalent and salary/wage level to meet the safe harbor.
3. A significant change is added to the already existing re-hire exemption:
   1. During the period beginning on February 15, 2020, and ending on December 31, 2020, the amount of loan forgiveness under this section shall be determined without regard to a reduction in the number of full-time equivalent employees if an eligible recipient—
      1. (A) is unable to rehire an individual who was an employee of the eligible recipient on or before February 15, 2020;
      2. (B) is able to demonstrate an inability to hire similarly qualified employees on or before December 31, 2020; or
      3. (C) is able to demonstrate an inability to return to the same level of business activity as such business was operating at prior to February 15, 2020.

5. Most importantly, the non-payroll portion of a forgivable covered loan is no longer limited to 25%.
6. Section 2302(a) of the CARES Act is modified to now also apply to the taxpayers who had loans forgiven under Section 1106. The original law specifically stated who had the indebtedness forgiven could not defer payment of certain employer payroll taxes.

The House-approved bill is expected to face an uphill battle in the Senate. There is general bipartisan support for extending the applicable 8-week period for the loan but there are differences between the Senate and House expectations of what the final measure will look like.

We will continue you to keep you updated if and when the bill is passed. If you have any question please do not hesitate to reach out to us here!