Small Business COVID PPP Updates: Where the Program Stands and How to Fund Now

There are no new PPP rounds, and none are planned — the Paycheck Protection Program stopped accepting applications on May 31, 2021, and every remaining dollar has long been disbursed. If you're searching for "COVID PPP updates" in 2026, one of three things is usually true: you still have an open forgiveness question, you're carrying a COVID EIDL loan and managing repayment, or you're a newer or recovering business that missed the relief window entirely and now needs working capital. This page covers all three. The short version: the pandemic-era grant era is over, forgiveness windows have largely closed, COVID EIDL is in normal repayment, and owners who need cash today are turning to revenue-based funding that qualifies on bank deposits rather than a program that no longer exists.

Current status: PPP is closed, and there is no PPP 3

The Paycheck Protection Program ran in two waves — the original 2020 authorization under the CARES Act and the "second draw" rounds in early 2021 — before funding was exhausted and the application window shut on May 31, 2021. Congress has not reauthorized it, and no active legislative proposal would bring it back. Any website, email, or caller promising a "new PPP round," a "PPP grant you're pre-qualified for," or a "COVID relief payout" in 2026 is either years out of date or an outright scam. Treat unsolicited PPP offers as fraud and do not share your EIN, bank login, or SBA credentials.

What still exists is the aftermath of the program: forgiveness records, SBA loan reviews, and repayment on the loans that were never forgiven. If your business took a PPP loan, your lender (or the SBA directly, for loans it purchased) holds the current standing of that loan. That's the real "update" most owners are looking for.

PPP forgiveness: where those applications stand now

Most PPP borrowers who applied for forgiveness on time have already received a decision. Forgiveness generally had to be requested within 10 months after the end of the loan's covered period; borrowers who missed that window saw their loans convert to regular repayment with the lender. A few situations are still live in 2026:

• SBA loan reviews and appeals. The SBA can review any PPP loan for eligibility and forgiveness accuracy for years after disbursement. If you receive a review notice, respond with documentation — payroll records, bank statements, and how proceeds were spent — by the stated deadline.
• Denied or partial forgiveness. If a loan was only partially forgiven, the remaining balance became an SBA loan at 1% interest with a set term. That balance is now in normal repayment and shows on your business credit profile if unpaid.
• Loans that were never submitted for forgiveness. These are simply term loans now. There is no back-dated "grant" to recover — the practical move is to keep the payments current so the balance doesn't damage your credit or complicate future funding.

If you're unsure of a loan's status, start with the lender that originated it. For SBA-purchased loans, the SBA's own servicing channels are the record of truth. This is documentation work, not a funding source — don't build a cash-flow plan around forgiveness you can't confirm in writing.

COVID EIDL is separate — and it's in repayment

Owners routinely confuse PPP with the COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), and the distinction matters. EIDL was a direct 30-year SBA loan (not forgivable, unlike the separate EIDL Advance grants) at 3.75% for most for-profit businesses. The program stopped taking applications and increase requests at the start of 2022, and the initial payment deferrals have long since ended. In 2026, COVID EIDL borrowers are squarely in repayment.

What this means in practice: an EIDL payment is now a fixed monthly obligation sitting on your books alongside rent, payroll, and vendor terms. The SBA has offered hardship accommodation plans that temporarily reduce payments for borrowers who qualify, and its servicing portal is where you request one. If EIDL repayment is the reason your working capital feels tight, address the payment structure directly with the SBA before layering on new debt — then size any new funding around the cash flow you actually have after that obligation.

The gap PPP left behind — and how owners fund working capital in 2026

PPP existed because normal credit dried up in a crisis. The program is gone, but the underlying need — fast, accessible working capital for businesses that banks underwrite slowly or decline — never went away. Two groups feel this most: businesses founded after the relief window (no pandemic aid was ever available to them) and businesses that are recovering but still show bruised credit from 2020–2022.

For those owners, the practical replacement isn't another government program — it's revenue-based funding through an MCA marketplace. Instead of underwriting on credit score and multi-year tax returns the way an SBA 7(a) loan does, a revenue-based funder looks primarily at your recent business bank deposits: consistent revenue in, consistent revenue out. That shifts approval toward how your business actually performs today rather than what your FICO looked like during the pandemic.

Typical marketplace parameters look like this: funding amounts starting around $10,000, personal credit accepted from roughly FICO 500+, decisions in 24–48 hours, and approval driven by bank-deposit history and revenue over credit. A marketplace matches your file to multiple funders at once, which usually means more than one offer to compare rather than a single take-it-or-leave-it term sheet. It is faster and more forgiving than a bank — and correspondingly more expensive, which is why it fits some situations and not others. No legitimate funder will call it "guaranteed." For the fuller picture, see our business funding guide and our breakdown of how revenue-based financing works.

Example: how a revenue-based offer is typically shaped

The table below is a for-example illustration of how three different businesses might be sized on a revenue-based marketplace. These are not quotes, and your terms depend on your own deposits, industry, and time in business. Notice that the driver in every row is monthly revenue and deposit consistency — not the credit score.

Rather than quoting a total-payback figure, a straight funder will frame cost as a factor on the advance and a remittance schedule (daily or weekly) tied to your receipts. The right question isn't just "what's the rate" — it's "can my weekly cash flow absorb this remittance without starving payroll and inventory?"

Decision framework: when revenue-based funding fits — and when to avoid it

It works best when:

• You have a clear, short-horizon use for the cash — inventory ahead of a busy season, a piece of equipment that pays for itself, bridging a specific receivable — and a plausible way it lifts revenue or margin.
• Your bank deposits are steady and healthy even though your credit was damaged during COVID or is still thin because the business is young.
• Speed genuinely matters. A 24–48 hour decision is worth a premium when a bank's multi-week timeline would cost you the opportunity entirely.
• You can comfortably fit the remittance inside current cash flow, with margin to spare after payroll and rent.

Avoid it — or wait — when:

• You qualify for an SBA 7(a) or a bank line and can tolerate the slower timeline; that capital is materially cheaper.
• You'd be using it to cover a structural shortfall — chronic losses, an unaffordable EIDL payment, or last month's payroll — rather than a fundable opportunity. Financing a hole usually deepens it.
• Your deposits are erratic or your account frequently runs negative; the remittance schedule will squeeze you exactly when you can least afford it.
• You're stacking on top of existing advances without a plan to clear them. Multiple concurrent remittances are one of the fastest paths to a cash crunch.

Protecting yourself: PPP scams and bad funding actors

Two kinds of predators cluster around this topic. The first are PPP and "COVID relief" scammers who exploit the fact that many owners never got a clear final answer on forgiveness. No one can get you a new PPP loan or a retroactive grant — anyone who says otherwise wants your identity or a fee. The SBA and legitimate lenders do not cold-call demanding upfront payment to "release" funds.

The second are funding brokers who over-promise. Watch for "guaranteed approval" (a legitimate funder never guarantees), pressure to sign same-day without seeing the remittance schedule, vague cost disclosure, and any push to take a larger advance than your revenue supports. A straight marketplace shows you real offers, states the funding amount and remittance terms plainly, and is comfortable with you walking away. Read the schedule, confirm the remittance frequency, and make sure the numbers survive a slow week before you sign.