COVID – 19 Small Business Economic Assistance Fact Sheet
COVID – 19 SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan
The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering designated states and territories low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses. The interest rate for non-profits is 2.75%, with up to 30 year term.
Those eligible are the following with 500 or fewer employees:
- Sole proprietorship, with or without employees
- Independent contractors
- Cooperatives and employee owned businesses
- Tribal small businesses
- Non-Profits
Facts:
- Up to $2 million can be provided to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses that could have been met if the disaster did not occur, think of this as working capital.
- Loans can be made based solely on credit scores.
- Loans available to all non-profits, including 501(c )(6)s.
- Loans below $200,000 can be approved without a personal guarantee.
- Borrowers can receive $10,000 cash advances that are forgiven if spent on paid leave, maintaining payroll, increased costs due to supply chain disruption, mortgage or lease payments, or repaying obligations that cannot be met due to revenue losses.
- obligations that cannot be met due to revenue losses.
- The interest rate on EIDLs will not exceed 4 percent per year.
- 3.75% interest rate for Small Businesses.
- 2.75% interest rate for non-profits.
- First payment will be deferred and not become due until one year after the original disbursement. Interest does accrue during this time.
- The term of these loans will not exceed 30 years.
EIDL Quick Resources:
- You can complete the streamlined application process here.
- This is also where you can request a $10,000 advance on the loan. This advance should arrive in 3-4 business days.
- This is a very helpful and updated video walk through of the application process.
Payment Protection Program (PPP) Loans
The program would provide cash-flow assistance through 100 percent federally guaranteed loans to employers who maintain their payroll during this emergency. If employers maintain their payroll, the loans would be mostly forgiven, which would help workers remain employed, as well as help affected small businesses and our economy to snap-back quicker after the crisis. PPP has a host of attractive features, such as forgiveness of up to 8 weeks of payroll based on employee retention and salary levels, no SBA fees and at least six months of deferral with maximum deferrals of up to a year. Small businesses and other eligible entities will be able to apply if they were harmed by COVID-19 between February 15, 2020 and June 30, 2020. This program is would be retroactive to February 15, 2020, in order to help bring workers who may have already been laid off back onto payrolls. Loans are available through June 30, 2020.
The maximum amount of the loan is 2.5 times your average monthly payroll costs during the period from February 15, 2019 – June 30, 2019, or $10M, whichever is less. (If you were not in business during those periods, then the measurement period changes to January 1, 2020 – February 29, 2020)
“Payroll costs” are defined as the following:
- Compensation (salaried or hourly). Note: Any individual compensation above $100,000 per year is disregarded.
- Health insurance costs
- Retirement contributions
The loan can generally be used for:
- Payroll costs
- Rent or mortgage payments
- Utilities
Forgiveness of the loan amount
– you may choose any 8-week period during the time frame from February 15, 2020 – June 30, 2020. IF the loan proceeds were used for the purposes listed above and you can provide substantiation to your lender, the amounts should be forgiven. Any amount that is NOT eligible to be forgiven is amortized over a period not to exceed 10 years and at an interest rate of no more than 4%. The amount of the forgiveness is not taxable and is not to be included in your income for federal income tax purposes.
The amount of principal that may be forgiven is equal to the sum of expenses for payroll, and existing interest payments on mortgages, rent payments, leases, and utility service agreements. Payroll costs include employee salaries (up to an annual rate of pay of $100,000), hourly wages and cash tips, paid sick or medical leave, and group health insurance premiums. If you would like to use the Paycheck Protection Program for other business-related expenses, like inventory, you can, but that portion of the loan will not be forgiven.
Eligibility:
- Businesses and entities must have been in operation on February 15, 2020.
- Small business concerns, as well as any business concern, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, a 501(c)(19) veterans organization, or Tribal business concern described in section 31(b)(2)(C) that has fewer than 500 employees or fewer employees than established by the relevant industry code.
- Individuals who operate a sole proprietorship or as an independent contractor and eligible self-employed individuals.
- Any business concern that employs not more than 500 employees per physical location of the business concern and that is assigned a North American Industry Classification System code beginning with 72, for which the affiliation rules are waived.
- Affiliation rules are also waived for any business concern operating as a franchise that is assigned a franchise identifier code by the Administration, and company that receives funding through a Small Business Investment Company
Facts:
- Devil is in the details on the PPP and the SBA Economic Injury Disaster loan. Yes you are eligible for both, as long as you don’t use them for the same thing. For example, if you use your EIDL to cover payroll for certain workers in April, you cannot use PPP for payroll for those same workers in April, although you could use it for payroll in March or for different workers in April.
- No personal guarantee or collateral required.
- Lenders defer fees, principal, and interest for no less than 6 months and no more than 1 year.
- Maximum Loans: Up to $10 million. Payroll costs exclude compensation paid to individuals,
- including the self-employed, above $100,000 a year.
- Requirements: The employer certifies loan will be used to retain workers, maintain payroll, make mortgage or lease payments, and pay utilities.
- Loans can be forgiven up to the amount spent by the borrower during the 8 weeks from loan
- origination on payroll costs up to $100,000 in wages, mortgage interest, rent or utilities.
- Forgiveness is reduced by layoffs or pay reductions in excess of 25%.
- Forgiveness is not treated as taxable income.
You can apply for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) at any lending institution that is approved to participate in the program through the existing U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 7(a) lending program and additional lenders approved by the Department of Treasury. This could be the bank you already use, or a nearby bank. There are thousands of banks that already participate in the SBA’s lending programs, including numerous community banks. You do not have to visit any government institution to apply for the program. You can call your bank or find SBA-approved lenders in your area through SBA’s online Lender Match tool. You can call your local Small Business Development Center or Women’s Business Center and they will provide free assistance and guide you to lenders.
