*May 20th, 2020 update*
Canadian Emergency Business Account (CEBA) Qualification Expansion
The Prime Minister announced yesterday an expansion to the eligibility criteria for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) to include more Canadian small businesses to access interest free loans that will help cover operating costs during a period when revenues have been reduced, due to the pandemic.
This program will now be available to the following range of businesses
- Sole proprietors receiving income directly from their businesses
- businesses that rely on contractors
- family-owned corporations that pay employees through dividends rather than payroll.
Applicants that have a payroll of less than $20,000 that didn’t qualify for the first CEBA application process need:
- a business operating account at a financial institution
- Canada Revenue Agency business number
- 2018 or 2019 tax return to apply
- eligible non-deferrable expenses between $40,000 and $1.5 million. Eligible non-deferrable expenses could include costs such as rent, property taxes, utilities, and insurance.
Expenses will be subject to verification and audit by the Government of Canada.
More details, including the launch date for applications under the new criteria, will follow in the days to come. Keep checking in with your financial institution for when they have made the updated change to their application process.
Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) Application Information
It was announced today that the application documents and updated criteria for the CECRA for small businesses are now available and the applications will be accepted through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation website beginning on May 25th 2020
For more details please visit their website: https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/finance-and-investing/covid19-cecra-small-business
Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) Extension
The Canadian Emergency Wage Benefit (CEWS) has been extended until August 29th 2020 to assist businesses who have been affected by COVID-19 who are still operating and paying employees wages while they are still showing minimum of 30% loss in revenue.
We will continue to run these reports for our business clients until further notice and apply on your behalf as long as they meet the qualifications. For any businesses whom wish for us to complete this on your behalf that didn’t want to participate previously or didn’t think you were eligible, please send us an email at info@airikkapassmore.com and we will get you started in the right direction to take advantage of this subsidy.
Update as of April 16th, 2020
The Government of Canada announced changes to eligibility requirements for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA)
Expanding the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) to businesses that paid between $20,000 and $1.5 million in total payroll in 2019. This new range will replace the previous one of between $50,000 and $1 million, and will help address the challenges faced by small businesses to cover non-deferrable operating costs. Since the launch of the CEBA on April 9, 2020, more than 195,000 loans have been approved by financial institutions, extending more than $7.5 billion in credit to small businesses
The Government also announced its intent to introduce the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses. The program will seek to provide loans, including forgivable loans, to commercial property owners who in turn will lower or forgo the rent of small businesses for the months of April (retroactive), May, and June. Implementation of the program will require a partnership between the federal government and provincial and territorial governments, which are responsible for property owner-tenant relationships. We are working with the provinces and territories to increase rent support for businesses that are most impacted by the pandemic and we will have more details to share soon.