Funding for COVID-19
Information regarding funding programs. As of today, there have been no announced programs from the USDA for losses from COVID-19.
Payment Protection Program (PPP):
This loan, based on payroll, will be accepting applications beginning tomorrow. You have to work through an SBA certified lender for this. Contact your bank or lender to see if you can use them or need to go somewhere else for processing. Download Payment Protection Program (PPP) HERE
This will be on a first come first serve basis nationwide. So, I urge you to process as quickly as possible.
Download Application Form HERE
According to the SBA the loan will be fully forgiven if the funds are used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities (due to likely high subscription, at least 75% of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll). Loan payments will also be deferred for six months. No collateral or personal guarantees are required. Neither the government nor lenders will charge small businesses any fees. Forgiveness is based on the employer maintaining or quickly rehiring employees and maintaining salary levels. Forgiveness will be reduced if full-time headcount declines, or if salaries and wages decrease. This loan has a maturity of 2 years and an interest rate of .5%.
Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EILD):
This loan is limited to businesses, including agricultural cooperatives, aquaculture enterprise, nursery, or producer cooperative, that is small under SBA Size Standards found at https://www.sba.gov/size-standards (not farms).
If you want to see a table with Comparison between PPP and EDIL. Click HERE
Employee Retention Credit: The Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA) requires certain employers to pay sick or family leave wages to employees who are unable to work or telework due to certain circumstances related to COVID-19. Employers are entitled to a refundable tax credit for the required leave paid, up to specified limits. The same wages cannot be counted for both credits. The Employee Retention Credit is a fully refundable tax credit for employers equal to 50 percent of qualified wages (including allocable qualified health plan expenses) that Eligible Employers pay their employees. This Employee Retention Credit applies to qualified wages paid after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021. The maximum amount of qualified wages taken into account with respect to each employee for all calendar quarters is $10,000, so that the maximum credit for an Eligible Employer for qualified wages paid to any employee is $5,000. For employers with more than 100 full-time employees, only employees who are currently not providing services for the employer due to COVID-19 causes are eligible for the credit. The employee retention credit is effective for wages paid after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021.
See also https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/faqs-employee-retention-credit-under-the-cares-act
Businesses can choose assistance under the Paycheck Protection Program or the Special Payroll Tax Credit for Employee Retention, but not both.
Florida Emergency Bridge Loan: This opportunity is still available and designed to be quick and east. It is $50,000 with no interest for 1 year. Here is the link https://floridadisasterloan.org/
This information was shared thanks to our Miami-Dade Agriculture Manager in Miami-Dade County
Department of Regulatory & Economic Resources. Phone: 305-971-5091
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