Today, citing a projected reduction in COVID-19 hospital and ICU admissions, Governor Newsom announced the lifting of the Regional Stay at Home Order. Effective immediately, San Diego County will once again be in the state’s Purple Tier. The following provides a reminder of what types of business operations are allowed in the Purple Tier.
- Restaurants may operate outdoors
- Places of worship may operate outdoors
- Gyms may operate outdoors
- Museums must close indoor operations
- Maximum occupancy of indoor retail at 25%
- Hairstylists, massage therapists and other personal care businesses can remain open for indoor operations in the purple tier, with precautions in place.
- Hotels and lodging may accept guests for leisure travel
Webinar on Relief Programs Available to Businesses
On Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 3 p.m., the City of Carlsbad Office of Innovation & Economic Development will cohost a webinar with the North County Small Business Development Center to discuss available relief programs like the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan, among others. To register for the webinar, click here.
Changes to the Carlsbad Business Loan Program
On Jan. 19, the Carlsbad City Council approved several changes to the Carlsbad Business Loan Program to make it accessible to more businesses. The changes to the program will go into effect over the next two weeks. The goal is to allow for additional funding to Carlsbad small businesses to keep operations going through the pandemic. There are two loan types for Carlsbad small businesses.
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The small business recovery loan now offers loans between $10,000 and $50,000 (previously $25,000), and is available to businesses with $5,000,000 or less in gross revenues (previously $3,000,000)
- Businesses that meet eligibility criteria may now apply for multiple loan products – meaning both the microloan and recovery loan. Businesses that previously applied for a product, may reapply for additional funding.
- Businesses must have a valid business license before funding is approved and must demonstrate they have been lawfully operating in Carlsbad for at least six months.
Staying the same:
- Small business microloans of between $5,000 and $10,000 for businesses with $2,000,000 or less in gross revenue or 15 or fewer employees
- Both loans types include scaled interest rates depending on how quickly the loan can be repaid. Neither loan type is forgivable.
If you have interest in a Carlsbad small business loan, apply here.
Federal Relief Programs
Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL)
- The EIDL grant program has reopened applications for grants up to $10,000.
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Businesses that did not previously receive the grant can apply, with priority given to small businesses with fewer than 300 employees, located in low-income neighborhoods, and that have experienced a 30% reduction in gross receipts. Apply now.
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
Businesses that applied for the first round of PPP are still eligible to apply in this round.
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Companies with fewer than 300 employees that have experienced a greater than 25% reduction in gross receipts will soon be able to apply for a second PPP loan, with priority given to hardest-hit industries.
- Companies may receive both a PPP loan and EIDL loan without compromising PPP forgiveness.
- PPP loans are nontaxable and will be forgivable if used for appropriate expenses.
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For more information, to find a lender and to apply, visit the SBA website.
Employee Retention Tax Credit
- Companies may now receive a credit against employment taxes for up to 70% on $10,000 in wages per quarter (or a maximum $14,000 per employee through June 30).
- Employers that experienced a decline of more than 20% in gross receipts may apply.
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For more information, visit the IRS website.
State Relief Programs
California Relief Grant – next round opens Feb. 2.
- Available to small business or small nonprofits operating in California
- Provides cash payments based on eligible business’s gross revenue
- Round Two applications open Feb. 2, 2021
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Round Two is the final application window for the Small Business Relief Grant. Applicants who applied but did not receive funds in round one do not need to apply again. They will automatically be entered in round two. You can begin preparing your documents at CAReliefGrant.com.
- The California Rebuilding Fund is a loan program to support California’s small businesses—especially those located in economically disadvantaged and historically under-banked areas of the state.
- Businesses who employed 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) and had gross revenues of less than $2.5 million or below in 2019 are eligible to apply.
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Full eligibility requirements can be found here.
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Fill out a pre-application here
- Provides $1,000 per qualified employee, up to $100,000
- Must have employed 100 or fewer employees as of Dec. 31, 2019, and
- Suffered a 50% decrease or more in income tax gross receipts (generally, all income less returns and allowances), when comparing second quarter 2020 to second quarter 2019.
Tax deferrals
- Automatic three-month extension for business taxpayers with up to $1 million in sales tax
- Expanded interest-free payment agreements to larger companies with up to $5 million in sales tax
- Expanded eligibility to industries heavily impacted by operations restrictions including bars & restaurants, hair salons, hospitality industry, etc.
San Diego County Small Business Stimulus Grant Program
The County of San Diego announced an additional $20 million in grant funds to support small businesses. Each county district has its own pool of funds for businesses. Any business impacted by COVID-19 may apply. Carlsbad is in District 5. To apply, determine eligibility, or read more about the program, click here.
Additional Resources
Our partners at San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation maintain a comprehensive list of available relief and resource programs for businesses impacted by COVID-19. Click here to see more.
The Office of Innovation & Economic Development is available to assist businesses with challenges they may be facing. Please reach out to us at [email protected] should you have any questions of ideas on how the city can better support businesses through this time.
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