Required Documents

Small businesses with employees are required to account for payroll for their employees, and thus should expect to supply appropriate documentation to do so.

Here are the documents small businesses with employees should expect to provide:

• Driver’s license (or other government issued ID)
  • You will need to provide a full color copy/scan/photo of the front and back of your driver’s license (or alternative government issued photo ID)
• Blank check
• Either:
  • Four quarters of Form 941 (from 2020 or 2019) or
  • Form 940 (2020 or 2019)
• Either:
  • Form 941 for Q1 2020 (if using 2019 941 documentation) or
  • 3rd party payroll process report
• Additional documentation is required based certain business types:
  • Non-Profit
    • Form 990
  • S-Corp
    • Form 1120-S
  • C-Corp
    • Form 1120
  • Partnership
    • Form 1065

IMPORTANT UPDATE: The SBA has announced updates to the PPP. As of February 2021, borrowers using Schedule C may use their gross income (line 7) instead of net income (line 31) to calculate their maximum loan amounts. 

Independent contractors, gig workers, self-employed persons with no employees, and similar types of applicants don’t have employees on payroll, and thus will need to provide different documents to show income.

For PPP Fast Lane borrowers submitting applications through Womply

Here are the documents non-employers should expect to provide when applying through Fast Lane:

• U.S. mobile phone number
• Your Social Security Number (or ITIN)
• US-based bank account
• Access to your tax records from 2019 or 2020. You must upload at least one of the following:
  • IRS Form 1040 Schedule C 2019 (filed)
  • IRS Form 1040 Schedule F 2019 (filed)
  • IRS Form 1040 Schedule C 2020 (filed)
  • IRS Form 1040 Schedule F 2020 (filed)
  • IRS Form 1040 Schedule C 2020 (draft)
  • IRS Form 1040 Schedule F 2020 (draft)
• Government issued ID, such as:
  • Drivers License
  • State ID
  • Passport
  • Passport Card
  • Permanent Resident Card
  • Work Permit

For non PPP Fast Lane borrowers applying through other application processes/lenders 

Non PPP Fast Lane applicants will most likely need the following documents (required documents may vary by lender, but these are the most commonly requested documents). 

Note: we have made an effort to provide accurate information, but SBA has updated requirements several times. Please see SBA’s FAQ here for detailed questions and the latest updates.

Here are the documents non-employers should expect to provide a typical SBA lender:

• Driver’s license (or other government issued ID)
  • You will need to provide a full color copy/scan/photo of the front and back of your driver’s license (or alternative government issued photo ID)
• 2019 or 2020 tax return
• 1099-MISC
• Blank check
• IRS Form 1040 and attached Schedule C
  • Note: If line 31 of your Schedule C is below $4,800, you are ineligible for a PPP loan
  • See our other FAQs here for more info about how to find your IRS Form 1040 and attached Schedule C
• February 2020 bank statement
  • Provide a copy of your statement that covers 2/15/2020 as proof that you were in business as of that date. If available, bank statements that are downloaded from your bank’s website will work better than scanned versions.

Most SBA-approved lenders have been requiring an IRS Form 1040 and Schedule C as part of the PPP application for non-employers, and while it may be possible to prove your income using other documentation, your application and approval process will be much faster if you can provide a Schedule C 1040 as part of your application. Your lender may work with you to prove your income using other documentation, though, so be sure to check with them.

Form 1040 is the standard form people use to report income to the IRS. It’s also where you claim deductions, credits, calculate refund or tax bill for the year.

An IRS Form 1040 looks like this:

Learn more about IRS Form 1040 on the IRS website.

A Schedule C Form is used to report income or loss from your business or the profession you practiced as a contractor, gig worker, etc. 

You need to provide a pdf copy of your 2019 Schedule C in order to apply for Fast Lane (unless your income came from farming or agricultural activities, in which case you will need to use a Schedule F Form).

A Schedule C Form looks like this:

Learn more about Schedule C on the IRS website

A Schedule F Form is used to report taxable income earned from farming or agricultural activities. 

A Schedule F Form looks like this:

Learn more about Schedule F on the IRS website

Yes. We recommend you complete your IRS Form 1040 and Schedule C accurately and submit them to your PPP lender with your other documentation. You can attest to the accuracy of the 2020 form and they can use it as evidence of your income, even if you haven’t officially filed your 2020 taxes yet.

Most lenders will accept scanned or mobile photos of the required documents. It’s important to make sure that any documents you send to your lender are easy to read and are as high-quality as you can make them. This will make the process significantly faster and easier.

If you are using PPP Fast Lane, you must send a PDF of your IRS Form 1040 and Schedule C and/or F. A photo will not work for PPP Fast Lane.

Adobe Scan is a popular app that can do this for you but there are several similar applications that will work.

If you’d like to use Adobe Scan, you can download via one of the links below:

• Apple app store
• Google play store

So be sure to provide good-quality copies of all your documents, and make sure they’re legible, properly filled out, and accurate.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: The SBA has announced new updates to the PPP for 2021. Most importantly, borrowers using Schedule C may elect to use their gross income (line 7) instead of net income (line 31) to determine their maximum loan amount. 

Yes. The minimum PPP loan amount is currently $1000. So in order to qualify, you need to show at least $4800 in profit on your Schedule C, line 31 (or line 7, if you choose), since the PPP loan amount is calculated at 2.5 times your average monthly revenue. $4800 (annual profit) ÷12 (months) X 2.5 = $1000. If you didn’t earn at least $4800 in 2019 or 2020 as an independent contractor, self employed individual, sole proprietor, etc. you don’t qualify for a PPP loan at this time.

If you use one of the popular online tax filing programs, please see our guides below. Otherwise, check your files for copies of prior tax returns, or speak to your tax preparer or accountant (if you use one), who will likely be able to provide you a copy. 

If you want an actual copy of your tax return from the IRS, you’ll need to download form 4506 from the IRS, fill it out and submit it, and wait up to 72 days. Be aware that the IRS charges $50 for each copy of your return.

Whether you completed your taxes with H&R Block in an office or paid to do your taxes online, you can get return copies when you create or sign in to your MyBlock account. 

Just access the Prior years link at the top-right of the screen in the “Your Taxes” section. You’ll then see all the years of tax returns available in your account. 

You should see the options on top of the screen to open, save, or print the tax return. You can either choose to save the return as a PDF, or you can choose to print the return and when your print dialogue window opens up choose “Save as PDF” as your print “Destination.”

When you download a copy of your return, TurboTax includes everything that was sent to the government, which would include your IRS Form 1040 and Schedule C/F.

Guide to access your 2019 return via TurboTax:

• First, make sure you’re using the same TurboTax account (with the same username) as in prior years. Otherwise, the below instructions won’t work.
• If you’re signing in for the first time this year, they may ask you some questions before you get to the Tax Home screen where you can access your prior year returns. 
• To get your prior year return:
  • Sign in to your TurboTax account here if you haven’t already.
  • Select Documents from the left menu. 
  • Use the drop-down menu to choose the tax year you want and then select Download tax PDF.
• You can also access your prior year returns like this:
  • Sign in to your TurboTax account here if you’re haven’t already.
  • Scroll down to the bottom and select Your tax returns & documents.
  • Select the year you want, then select Download/print return (PDF).

If the year you’re looking for isn’t there, it might be in a different account. Go here to find all of your accounts, one of them should have the return you’re looking for

• From within your TaxAct Online return click Federal. On smaller devices, click  in the upper left-hand corner, then Federal.
• Click Print Center in the left column.
• Click Custom
• Check the item you want to print (You may need to scroll down in the section to locate the item).
• Click Print
• Click the PDF link.
• Click the Printer icon or the Save icon or the Download icon (available when you hover your mouse over the bottom of the PDF form).

If you electronically filed your return with TaxSlayer you can view/print a copy of your return by logging in to your TaxSlayer account, and selecting the “Prior Year” tab on the “My Account” page. You will then need to click on “View or Print Return.” From there you can either download the pdf of your return or choose to print and then “Save to pdf” as your print destination option.

If your return was prepared at a Jackson Hewitt office that uses the Electronic Signature & Storage (ESS) system, you can print your tax return and other related tax documentation using MyJH.

• Join MyJH or Log In to MyJH.
• Click on Manage Documents.
• Click the ellipsis ••• to the right of the document you’d like to download.
• Select Download.

 If you filed with Jackson Hewitt but DID NOT electronically sign your tax return, you can go to any office and show proper identification to obtain a copy.

If you filed with Jackson Hewitt but DID NOT electronically sign your tax return, you can go to any office and show proper identification to obtain a copy.