The Small Business Owner’s Guide to the CARES Act

03/30/2020

The programs and initiatives in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was just passed by Congress are intended to assist business owners with whatever needs they have right now. When implemented, there will be many new resources available for small businesses, as well as certain non-profits and other employers. This guide provides information about the major programs and initiatives that will soon be available from the Small Business Administration (SBA) to address these needs, as well as some additional tax provisions that are outside the scope of SBA.

To keep up to date on when these programs become available, please stay in contact with your local Small Business Administration (SBA) District Office, which you can locate here.

Struggling to get started? The following questions might help point you in the right direction. Do you need:

• Capital to cover the cost of retaining employees? Then the Paycheck Protection Program might be right for you.

• A quick infusion of a smaller amount of cash to cover you right now? You might want to look into an Emergency Economic Injury Grant.

• To ease your fears about keeping up with payments on your current or potential SBA loan? The Small Business Debt Relief Program could help.

• Just some quality, free counseling to help you navigate this uncertain economic time? The resource partners might be your best bet.

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 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.

Click on link to download the full PDF file The Small Business Owner’s Guide to the CARES Act