Disaster Financial Assistance for Workers and Small Business Owners
If you’ve been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, learn how you could qualify for unemployment benefits, paid leave, and more. Get financial help from the government if you own a small business. Find out about the CARES Act and how it can help you.
Unemployment Benefits and the Coronavirus
The federal government has allowed states to change their unemployment benefits laws. It lets them provide unemployment benefits for situations related to the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 authorizes:
An automatic, additional payment of $300 per week until March 14, 2021 to everyone qualified for unemployment benefits
An additional $100 per week for some self-employed or gig workers
Unemployed workers to get an extra 11 weeks of benefits beyond the number a state currently provides. This is in addition to the 13 additional weeks that were authorized by the CARES Act.
Contact your state’s unemployment insurance program for more information and to apply for benefits.
Coronavirus Financial Help for Small Businesses
The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers programs that can help your business if it’s been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) offers loans to help small businesses and non-profits keep their workers employed. If you follow the guidelines, your loan may be forgiven. And if your business has gotten its first PPP loan (draw), it may be eligible for a second draw.
Get the latest information from the SBA about the Paycheck Protection Program, including program details, who can apply, loan forgiveness, and frequently asked questions.
You can apply for a PPP Loan until March 31, 2021.
Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL)
An Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) helps small businesses and nonprofits that are losing money during the coronavirus pandemic and that need funds for financial obligations and operating expenses.
SBA is accepting applications for EIDLs until December 31, 2021.
Apply online for a COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan.
SBA Express Bridge Loans
If your business has a relationship with an SBA Express lender, you may be able to borrow up to $25,000 quickly under the SBA Express Bridge Loan program.
SBA Debt Relief
SBA’s Debt Relief Program pays the principal, interest, and fees for six months for 7(a), 504, and Microloans disbursed before September 27, 2020. Beginning in February 2021, that relief will be extended for certain businesses.
For details, see the “Small Business Debt Relief Program” section, page 9 of the Small Business Owner’s Guide to COVID-19 Relief Legislation.
CARES Act Provides Relief for Individuals and Businesses
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, or stimulus package, was signed into law on March 27, 2020. It offers help in many forms for individuals and businesses affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Help for Individuals: Stimulus Checks
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will be issuing one-time payments for many individuals starting in late April 2020. Most people won’t have to do anything to get their stimulus check. Find out if you qualify for a stimulus payment, if you’ll have to do anything to get it, and when you might receive it.
Help for Individuals: Expansion of Unemployment Benefits
The CARES Act expands eligibility, amount, and duration of benefits for people impacted by the coronavirus. Read about those and other coronavirus-related changes to unemployment benefits.
Home Loan Relief: Federally-Backed Mortgages
Single family homeowners with federally-backed mortgages get two types of financial help:
Protection from eviction and foreclosure through mid-May
Reduced or postponed mortgage payments for up to a year
Renter Relief: Multi-Family Homes With Federally-Backed Mortgages
If you live in an apartment building with a federally-backed mortgage, you're safe from eviction through December 31, 2020. Read more about that and about renter relief from some states.
Credit Report Protection
If you're affected by the coronavirus pandemic, you can ask a creditor to make an accommodation to defer or modify your payments. If you follow that agreement, your creditor cannot change your credit report status; if you were up-to-date in your payments before the accommodation, your creditor must still report you as current. If you were delinquent in your payments before the accommodation, your creditor will continue to report you as delinquent until you bring the account current.
Federal Student Loan Relief
Federal student loan payments are suspended from March 13, 2020, to January 31, 2021. Your payments will automatically stop during this period.
Help for Businesses: Small Business Administration Loans
The CARES Act creates or boosts programs designed to keep small businesses afloat.
Help for Businesses: Payroll Tax Credit for Businesses of All Sizes
The Employee Retention Credit allows businesses of all sizes to receive a tax credit for keeping employees on their payroll. It will refund 50% of up to $10,000 in wages paid by businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Businesses that take small business loans are not eligible.
Tax Filing Deadlines and Extension Due to Coronavirus
The deadline for filing federal income taxes was July 15, 2020. This three-month extension to the normal April 15 deadline comes in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
This extension does not apply to state and local tax returns. To make sure you file those on time, find out the tax filing due dates in your state. If you do not file and pay your taxes on time, you will be charged interest and a late payment penalty. For taxpayers due a refund, there is no penalty for filing a late return.
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Last Updated:
January 12, 2021
