The SBA announced yesterday that it was again opening up the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) grant and loan program. Independent contractors, freelancers, gig workers and small business are eligible to receive grants that do not need to be repaid as well as loans with favorable repayment terms.
This is NOT the same as the widely reported PPP loans and these EIDL loans are not forgivable (although the grant of $1,000 per employee or sole proprietor does not have to be repaid). If you already have a PPP loan, you can also apply for these EIDL loans.
SBA resumed processing EIDL applications that were submitted before the portal stopped accepting new applications on April 15 and will be processing those applications on a first-come, first-served basis. On June 15, SBA began accepting new EIDL and EIDL Advance applications from qualified small businesses and U.S. agricultural businesses.
In applying for the grant, the business is also applying for consideration for a 30 year SBA economic injury loan. You can keep the grant without taking the loan. However, the loan is for 30 years at 3.75%, with payments deferred for the first 12 months.
Eligible small businesses and agricultural businesses may apply for the Loan Advance here.
The application process is straight-forward but remember these two things when applying:
1. Have your business banking information available when you apply
2. As proof of identity, the SBA will do a soft inquiry into your credit report. If you have a lock on your credit profile, you should remove it until the SBA informs you your identity is verified.
Applicants who have already submitted their applications will continue to be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. For agricultural businesses that submitted an EIDL application through the streamlined application portal prior to the legislative change, SBA will process these applications without the need for re-applying.
