Relief for Business Members

The Canada Emergency Business Account will provide qualifying business members with access to a loan of up to $60,000:

• At 0% interest until December 31, 2022
• Requires no minimum monthly principal payments until December 31, 2022
• One quarter of the first $40,000 of this loan (up to $10,000) is eligible for forgiveness provided outstanding balance is fully paid on or before December 31, 2022
• If you also received the $20,000 expansion funding (expanding the original $40,000 loan maximum to $60,000), 50% of that additional amount (up to $10,000) is also eligible for forgiveness provided the outstanding balance of the loan is fully paid on or before December 31, 2022  
• On a $60,000 CEBA loan, the total forgiveness amount that you will be eligible to receive is $20,000 
• If the loan is not repaid by December 31, 2022, it will be converted into a 3 year term bearing an interest rate of 5% per annum.
• Outstanding principal of the loan must be fully repaid by December 31, 2025

Interior Savings business members, that meet each of the following criteria will be eligible:

• Must have had a Canadian-registered business (not a holding company) in operation on March 1, 2020 and you must have Federal Tax Registration.
• Must fall into one of the following categories:
  • Payroll eligibility stream: you paid between $20,000 to $1.5 million in total payroll in 2019, or  
  • Non-Deferrable Expense eligibility stream: your 2019 payroll was less than $20,000 but your 2020 Eligible Non-Deferrable Expenses (like rent, property taxes, utilities and insurance) are greater than $40,000 and less than $1,500,000. Eligible expenses are subject to adjustments for support or subsidies claimed under other Government of Canada COVID response programs.
• You'll need to provide:
  • Your Canada Revenue Agency Business Number (BN) (15 digits), as reported at the top of your 2019 T4 Summary of Remuneration Paid (T4SUM)
  • Total 2019 employment income paid as reported in Box 14 of your 2019 T4SUM
  • If applying under the Non-Deferrable Expense stream, electronic or paper copies of Receipts / Invoices / Agreements to be uploaded as evidence of your 2020 Eligible Non-Deferrable Expenses.
• Must agree to use the funds from this loan to pay for operating costs that cannot be deferred, such as payroll, rent, utilities, insurance and property tax, as per the requirements of the program set out by the Government of Canada.
• Must be a current Interior Savings business member with an active business operating account.  Interior Savings must be your primary financial institution and your account must have been opened and in good standing on or prior to March 1, 2020
  • This criterion has recently been amended. If you have been conducting your business banking through a personal account, you may still be eligible to apply. You will need to complete the federal government’s pre-screen tool to determine your eligibility. If eligible, you will be required to open a business chequing account prior to applying for the CEBA loan.
• Must have the ability and authority to bind the organization.
• Must apply for the Canada Emergency Business Account only from your primary financial institution.  Applying for this benefit at more than one financial institution may result in prosecution by the federal government.
• Per the requirements of the CEBA program as set out by the Government of Canada, you confirm that your business:
  • It is not a government organization or body, or an entity owned by a government organization or body;
  • It is not a union, charitable, religious or fraternal organization or entity owned by such an organization or if it is, it is a registered T2 or T3010 corporations that generate a portion of its revenue from the sales of goods or services;
  • It is not an entity owned by individual(s) holding political office; and
  • It does not promote violence, incite hatred or discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, region, education, age or mental or physical disability.

If your business is applying for CEBA and your 2019 payroll was less than $20,000, you will need to prove your business incurred between $40,000 and $1.5 million in 2020 non-deferrable expenses in 2020.  Eligible expense categories include:

• Wages and other employment expenses to independent (arm’s length) third parties;
• Rent or lease payments for real estate used for business purposes;
• Rent or lease payments for capital equipment used for business purposes;
• Payments incurred for insurance related costs;
• Payments incurred for property taxes;
• Payments incurred for business purposes for telephone and utilities in the form of gas, oil, electricity, water and internet;
• Payments for regularly scheduled debt service;
• Payments incurred under agreements with independent contractors and fees required in order to maintain licenses, authorizations or permissions necessary to conduct business by the Borrower.

The following Government of Canada COVID Response Programs, if you participated in any, will cause adjustments to your total 2020 eligible non-deferrable expenses:

• Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy,
• 10% Temporary Wage Subsidy,
• Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance, Regional Relief and Recovery Fund,
• Futurpreneur Canada,
• Northern Business Relief Fund,
• Fish Harvester Grant,
• Relief measures for Indigenous businesses, and
• $250 million COVID-19 IRAP (Industrial Research Assistance Program) Subsidy Program

Expenses will be subject to verification and audit by the Government of Canada.

If you are approved for the CEBA, you’ll have access to up to a $60,000 loan that has a 0% interest rate with no fees and requires no principal repayments until December 31, 2022.

If the loan is not repaid by December 31, 2022, it will be converted into a 3 year term bearing an interest rate of 5% per annum.

No, as stipulated by the federal government, the total salaries paid in 2019 must be no more than $1.5 million. 

If you have been conducting your business banking through a personal account, you may be eligible based upon new criteria released in November 2020. You will need to complete the federal government’s pre-screen tool to determine your eligibility. If eligible, you will be required to open a business chequing account prior to applying for the CEBA loan.

For further information on relief measures available to support sole proprietors check out the ​Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan website.

Yes, you can still enroll if you are a current borrower.

Yes, you can still enroll in the CEBA if you meet the criteria. However, it’s important to note that you are only entitled to one Canada Emergency Business Account; applying for this benefit at more than one financial institution may result in prosecution by the federal government.

Yes. Each business entity that you have may enroll for the CEBA, however, each business must individually meet the eligibility criteria and operate as a separate active business. Holding companies are not eligible. 

Our application process is simple and easy. We will walk you through several attestation questions required through the program by the Government of Canada.

If you are applying under the Non-Deferrable Expenses criteria (with 2019 payroll of less than $20,000), after you have initiated your application with us, you will be directed to a CEBA website to provide supporting documentation of your 2020 Eligible Non-Deferrable Expenses and to complete the application.

Apply Now for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) >

Must agree to use the funds from this loan to pay for operating costs that cannot be deferred, such as payroll, rent, utilities, insurance and property tax, as per the requirements of the program set out by the Government of Canada.

Yes. To enroll, the business must have been active and open on March 1, 2020 and meet all necessary criteria including confirmation that the loan proceeds will be used to pay for operating expenses that cannot be deferred such as payroll, rent, utilities, insurance, debt payments or property tax.  

Export Development Canada will be the administrator of the government’s eligibility criteria. For additional information, please visit www.CEBA-CUEC.ca

Yes, please ensure that only the authorized signer of your Interior Savings business account applies. We cannot accept multiple applications from the same business account.

Please speak with your Interior Savings Account Manager to explore additional solutions. There may be other government initiatives to support your business, including the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) Co-Lending Facility and the Export Development Canada (EDC) Business Credit Availability Program.