Small Business

Disaster Assistance:

If you are a small business owner, you can now apply for a Disaster Assistance Loan through the Small Business Administration. For more information, please visit here.

City of Charlotte Open For Business Initiative:

Open For Business provides small businesses with COVID-19 recovery assistance. For mor information, please visit here.

Paycheck Protection Program

The Paycheck Protection Program’s maximum loan amount is $10 million with a fixed 1% interest rate and maturity of two years. The loans are available to cover up to eight weeks of average monthly payroll (based on 2019 figures) plus 25% and payments are deferred for six months (interest does accrue). The SBA will forgive the portion of loan proceeds used for payroll costs and other designated operating expenses for up to eight weeks, provided at least 75% of loan proceeds are used for payroll costs. Eligible expenses for the eight-week forgiveness include:

Payroll costs (excluding the prorated portion of any compensation above $100,000 per year for any person. Payroll costs include salary, commissions, tips; certain employee benefits including sick leave and health care premiums, and state and local taxes;
Mortgage interest (not prepayment or principal payments) and rent payments on mortgages and leases in existence after February 15, 2020;
Utilities such as electricity, gas, water, transportation, phone and internet access for services that began before February 15, 2020; and
Additional wages paid to tipped employees.

Tax Credits:

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service are offering small and mid-size employers more information on refundable tax credits that reimburse them, dollar-for-dollar, for the cost of providing their employees paid sick and family leave wages related to COVID-19.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), gives businesses with fewer than 500 employees funds to provide employees with paid sick leave and family and medical leave related to COVID-19.

Eligible employers can receive a credit in the full amount of the qualified sick leave and family leave wages paid for between April 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020.

Employers can be reimbursed immediately by reducing their federal employment tax deposits. If there are insufficient federal employment taxes to cover the amount of the credits, employers may request an accelerated payment from the IRS.

Helpful Resources:

Small Business Resources