SBA Opens Up New Grants and Loans for Small Businesses and Independent Contractors: The EIDL Program

On June 15, 2020, the SBA revealed that it was again opening it’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) grant and loan program. This suggests that independent specialists, freelancers, and gig employees are eligible to receive a $1,000 grant that does not have actually to be paid back.

Small organisations and farming services likewise might make an application for the grant, equivalent to $1,000 per worker of business approximately a maximum of $10,000.

A loan for favorable terms from the SBA may also be offered. There is some unpredictability as to the quantity readily available, but up to $150,000 or $2 million has been reported.

Under the CARES Act handed down March 27, 2020, independent contractors, gig employees, and freelancers impacted by the coronavirus crisis are eligible to get the grant. The SBA sometimes refers to these grants as “advances,” but you are not needed to repay this money to the government.

The application process involves filling out an easy SBA type requesting a Financial Injury Disaster Recovery Loan, which attends to the advance even if the loan is not granted.

At first, $10 billion was designated by the government for these grants, however, due to the overwhelming quantity of applications, the SBA suspended accepting new applications in mid-April 2020 due to a lapse in appropriations for the grants. However, now the SBA has raised the suspension since of legislation handed down April 24, 2020, that assigned another $60 billion for EIDL and grants thereunder.

Who Is Qualified for the Grants?

The SBA catastrophe loans and grants consist of the following qualified plaintiffs:

 · Independent professionals (for whom there is expanded eligibility requirements)

 · Freelancers

 · Sole proprietorships, with or without workers

 · Gig employees

 · Small organisations with less than 500 employees

 · Agricultural businesses

You need to have stayed in business as of January 31, 2020. The grants are available till December 16, 2020, but the SBA will quickly lack money, so you need to apply as quickly as possible.

Where Do I Use Online for the SBA Grant?

The application needs to be discovered at covid19relief.sba.gov/ #/. Background info from the SBA can be found at www.sba.gov/disaster-assistance/coronavirus-covid-19.

What Guidance Is There for Finishing the SBA Application If You Are an Independent Contractor?

If you are an independent professional, freelancer, or gig employee, here are some suggestions on completing the application:

 · On the first concern, examine the third box as you are applying as an independent contractor or sole proprietorship.

 · You should add your Social Security number if you are using it as a private independent professional, freelancer, or gig employee.

 · The kind will ask you for the gross incomes for the last 12 months for your independent contractor business and the “cost of items sold.” You can approximate this based upon what happened in 2019. The cost of items sold implies the expenses sustained in the process of supplying your product and services as a freelancer, gig worker, or independent specialist.

 · Where it asks for “Owner” put your name and “100” percent owner.

 · It will request for the date the business was established. This is the date you started doing freelance, gig work, or independent specialist work. Simply approximate if you don’t have the precise date, however, ensure it was before January 31, 2020.

 · The form will request for the bank account to which you desire the grant cash direct transferred. You require the name of your bank, the account number (the middle number at the bottom of your checks), and the routing number (the number at the bottom left of your checks). See the question below on direct depositing.

 · For your service phone number, it’s all right to provide your cell number.

 · “Is your business owned by a business entity?” The response is no because you are a private owner.

 · When the kind asks for your company name, just enter your name if you do not have a company name.

 · You can ignore the concern “If anybody helped you in finishing this application …” unless you have actually in reality gotten aid.

 · Make sure to check the package that says you wish to use for the $10,000 grant (although it will only be $1,000 for independent professionals, freelancers, and gig employees).

The form needs to take about 15 minutes to submit. After it is completed and sent, the SBA will provide you a confirmation number, so keep a copy of that for any follow-up.

How Can I Make Certain I Provide My Correct Direct Deposit Information to the SBA?

Direct deposit info is as follows:

 · The name of your bank.

 · Your checking account number, which can be as much as 17 characters. On the sample check listed below, the account number is 2020202086.

 · The “routing number” for your bank, which should include 9 digits. On the sample check listed below, the routing number is 250250025.

 · Don’t include the check number (1234 on the image listed below).

 · Confirm that you have offered the correct numbers.

Make sure to include your routing number and account number, as seen in the example above.

How Long Will It Take to Really Get the Grant Cash from the SBA?

The very first grants took control of a month to be issued; hopefully, newer grants will be quicker.

The SBA has been directly depositing the grant cash into checking account without notifying people that the funds are on the method or have been transferred. So inspect your checking account regularly.

Do I Need to Accept a Financial Injury Loan in Order to Get the Grant?

No. You can choose simply to accept the grant you receive, and you do not have to accept a Financial Injury Disaster Loan. But the loans have favorable terms, repayable in as much as thirty years.

Do I Have to Pay Back the Grant?

No. It’s clear under the CARES Act that this is a grant that does not require to be paid back. No interest payment is required either.

How Can You Contact the SBA to Act on Your Grant Application?

The SBA site sets forth these methods of contact:

 · Phone: SBA Catastrophe Help Client Service Center at 800-659-2955

 · Email: disastercustomerservice@sba.gov

If you can’t get across the SBA, try calling the Small Company Advancement Center (SBDC) in your area. For example, the Northern California SBDC has been incredibly useful, and you can speak with a person who lives (see www.asksbdc.com or call 833-ASK-SBDC). Advisors can help you with both the PPP loan process and the EIDL loans/grants as well as unique programs in your state.