We know how much our Coastal Bend small-business owners can especially use some cash right now, as they attempt to rebound from the financial effects of COVID-19.
Tuesday, the Del Mar College’s Economic Development Center will host two free webinars. To register, just click the time below of the webinar you'd like to attend, and the link will take you to the registration page.
The first one will feature the Small Business Administration deputy district director for our area, who will be speaking at 10 a.m., and answering questions.
An IRS representative is scheduled to speak at 2 p.m.
The events will be done via Zoom, and will address the programs available for small-business owners to turn to for financial help, such as the employee retention credit via the IRS.
This is a fully refundable tax credit for employers that equals 50 percent of qualified wages.
This includes qualified health-plan expenses that those eligible employers paid their employees.
The maximum credit for an eligible employer for qualified wages to be paid to an employee is $5,000 for the quarter, and applies to qualified wages paid after March 12, and before Jan. 1, 2021.
Now, who is an eligible employer?
“An eligible employer would be anybody that was either fully or partially suspended due to government ordinance due to COVID-19, or any business during that time frame that experiences a significant decline in gross receipts during the calendar quarter,” said Del Mar College’s Small Business Development Center Program Coordinator Monica Benavides-Stuber.
You need to fill out a form and fax it in in order to get that credit. Form 7200, also called "The Advance Payment for Employer Credit Due to COVID-19," can be found at at IRS.gov.
Small businesses can also take advantage of The Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program via the Small Business Administration.
Not only the loan, but the advance as well of $1,000 per employee up to a maximum of $10,000.
“So this is an advance payment they get for retention for their employees straight $1,000 per employee just for applying and they have the option to put in for the idle loan, and that’s where most of the money is: in the idle loan,” Benavides-Stuber said.
And there’s also The Paycheck Protection Program, which you can still apply for until the end of this week. That can be accessed through your bank or lender, and it's refundable!
“As long as they use it for the intended usage, they have the option to get that money back," Benavides-Stuber said. "So it's refundable to their businesses.”
Remember, it’s free, as are all their webinars right now.
