Up to $40,000 from the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA)

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The Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) was announced on March 27th.

The following details have been taken from www.canada.ca, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) and a CIBC press release:

• Up to $40,000 for small businesses and not for profit organizations (NPO)

• CEBA is a government-guaranteed loan to help businesses pay for operating costs that can’t be deferred as a result of COVID-19 for example:

• Rent and utilities

• Suppliers

• Businesses or NPOs must be registered in Canada

• Must have an annual payroll between $50,000 and $1,000,000 based on the 2019 T4 summary of remuneration paid filing

• Must only apply through applicant’s primary bank where the applicant’s primary business operating account is held

• Primary business account must have been opened prior to March 2, 2020, as per CIBC

• The loan is interest-free until December 31, 2022, per CIBC, this is to be confirmed

• If the loan IS repaid by December 31, 2022

• 25% ($10,000 maximum) of the principal will be forgiven

• The forgiveness would likely be taxable though this remains to be confirmed

• If the loan CANNOT be repaid by December 31, 2022

• The loan is converted to a 3-year term loan at a 5% interest rate

Contact your business account manager to determine what will be required to apply and continue to monitor your primary bank's COVID-19 section of their website for personal and business updates on the government support initiatives.

For example, CIBC is targeting the week of April 6th to post program qualification criteria and application details to their website. A CIBC applicant must submit online via CIBC Online Banking for Business, an applicant may need to establish this online access as a preliminary step in the application process.