Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA)

What Is CEBA?

The Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) is a loan of up to $60,000 (up to $20, 000 is forgivable). This program is legislated by the Federal Government, administered by Export Development Canada (EDC) and delivered through financial institutions with the intent of helping businesses pay their non-deferrable expenses during this challenging period. The CEBA has two streams of eligibility: the Payroll stream and the Non-Deferrable Expense stream. A portion of the loan is forgivable, providing the remainder is repaid by December 31, 2023.

Most recent update:

January 12, 2022, government announces the extension of the CEBA repayment deadline and interest-free period to December 31^st, 2023.

October 21, 2021, new CEBA applications to financial institutions (FI) are no longer being accepted.

If you were asked to provide information and have not yet heard back, it is likely that the CEBA administrators are still processing your application. For status updates please call the CEBA call centre at 1-888-324-4201 and stay in touch with your financial institution. Should you be unhappy with the results of your CEBA call centre conversation, you can request to have a supervisor call you back.

As more details are available, we’ll update our website with the most accurate, recent information.

You can find a list of past CEBA updates in the CEBA timeline.

Program overview	FAQ
Other resources	Our advocacy

CEBA Overview

How much your business can receive:

CEBA: Your business can receive a loan of up to $60,000. If you repay the balance on or before December 31, 2023, your loan will be interest-free with 33% forgivable (up to $20,000).
CEBA expansion: If your business has already qualified for a CEBA loan, you can receive an expansion of $20,000. If you repay the balance on or before December 31, 2023, your loan will be interest-free with up to $10,000 forgivable.

Each financial institution determines the form of their CEBA loan. For example, the loan may come to you via a credit card, line of credit, or term loan as defined in the terms and conditions. Contact your financial institution if you have further questions or concerns.

Program duration: April 9, 2020, to June 30, 2021

How to apply: Apply through your financial institution. See the list of providers on the CEBA website.

Application Deadline: June 30, 2021 (the program is now closed to new applications)

Document upload deadline: Please see FAQ

Eligibility criteria: See the FAQ below for details.

Stay informed! Get all your CEBA updates as soon as they become available. If you’re not a CFIB member and would like to receive the CEBA updates by email, please subscribe to our email list.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the deadlines for uploading documents?

Is my business eligible for CEBA and its expansion?

Your business must meet all of the eligibility requirements listed below to qualify for CEBA. If you meet these requirements, you must determine if your business is eligible for either (1) the Payroll Stream OR (2) the Non-Deferrable Expense Stream.

CEBA eligibility requirements:

You have an active CRA Business Number (BN) with an effective registration date on or before March 1, 2020.
You have an active business chequing/operating account with your financial institution. If you currently don’t have a business chequing/operating account, you must create one at your financial institution before applying for CEBA.
You have not previously used CEBA and will not apply for CEBA at any other financial institution
You intend to continue to operate your business or to resume operations
You are willing to participate in post-funding surveys conducted by the government or any of its agents

Payroll stream eligibility:

You must have a total employment income paid in the 2019 calendar year between $20,000 and $1.5 million (found on your T4 Sum).

Non-deferrable expense stream eligibility:

You must have eligible non-deferrable expenses for the year 2020 totalling between $40,000 and $1,500,000. For more details on what is an eligible non-deferrable expense, see below.

You must have filed an income tax return with the CRA for the tax year ending in 2019, or if your tax return for 2019 has not yet been submitted, 2018.

Note: if your business did not have any returns to file with CRA in 2018 or 2019, you may be able to still file your returns with zero or “nil” owed online in your CRA My Business Account portal. Please consult your tax practitioner to see if this might apply to your situation.

CEBA expansion eligibility requirements:

If you have received a CEBA loan, you must apply for the CEBA expansion at the same financial institution that funded your $40K CEBA.
You also need to sign a self-attestation of having experienced a revenue drop due to COVID-19. This will look slightly different across all financial institutions.

What is an eligible non-deferrable expense?

Eligible expenses are those incurred in January or February 2020. They are due (legally or contractually) as of March 1, 2020 and cannot be deferred beyond 2020.

The eligible non-deferrable expenses fall into nine categories:

Wages	Employee wages (included on a T4 slip) Arm’s length (third-party) independent contractor invoices formalized between January 1 and February 29, 2020 Payroll taxes Benefits (e.g., pension, insurance coverage)
Rent or lease payments for real estate	Formalized commercial tenancy agreements This excludes: Partial business rent, or Lease agreements for real estate used for home-based businesses
Payments incurred for business insurance-related costs	Property insurance Professional liability insurance Vehicle insurance Business interruption insurance
Business rent/lease for capital equipment	Capital equipment used for business purposes such as: Machinery Computer equipment Furniture Vehicles Tractors This excludes: Fuel for capital equipment unless it is stipulated on an agreement or contract Capital equipment that was purchased outright
Payments incurred for property taxes	Property tax bill dated 2020
Utility payments incurred by the business	Contract signed before March 1, 2020, for: Telephone Utilities such as: Gas Oil Electricity Water Internet This excludes: Proportional business use utility payments will not be included unless the agreement or contract is in the operating company’s name. Strata/condo fees
Payments for regularly scheduled debt service	Lending agreement dated before March 1, 2020, with a contractual end date on or after January 1, 2020. Invoice from lender dated in 2020. What is excluded or unacceptable through the CEBA application portal: Financial institution statements Credit card statements or receipts Business financial statements (e.g., profit/loss statements) CRA payment notices GST/HST payment notices
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	All below agreements and invoices must be due or dated (legally or contractually) from January 1, 2020 to March 1, 2020. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. Professional dues for licensed professionals Fishing licenses Taxi medallions Software licensing and subscriptions Patent fees Accounting invoices Legal service invoices Security expenses
Payments incurred for materials consumed to produce a product ordinarily offered for sale by the borrower.	Input materials that: Are consumed Are transformed Become part of the product that is ordinarily offered for sale Examples of this include raw materials for the production of your product such as: Ingredients Seed Livestock feed This excludes: Finished goods’ inventory Work-in-progress inventory Purchases of capital assets Fertilizer

How to apply for CEBA

If you have not yet received CEBA	If you have already received CEBA
Fill out the pre-screen questionnaire Find a financial institution that provides the CEBA loan (if necessary) Open a business bank account (if necessary) Apply for either The Payroll stream You can apply for CEBA under the payroll stream through your financial institution. 233 financial institutions provide CEBA across Canada. Once your application is submitted, Export Development Canada (EDC) will assess it and inform your financial institution of the loan’s approval or denial. If approved, your financial institution will provide you with the funds. Non-deferrable expense stream: When applying for CEBA under the Eligible Non-Deferrable Expense Stream, you must follow a three-step process: Step 1. Complete the online Pre-Screen Tool. This tool determines if you are eligible, so that you can decide whether to open a business account (if you don’t already have one) before applying for CEBA at your financial institution. If you are declined at this step, you can still apply for CEBA (though your chances of receiving a loan are low) and must complete the following two steps. Step 2. Ready to apply? Contact your financial institution where you hold your business chequing / operating account. They will direct you to the last step of the application process. Step 3. Gather your documents. Once you complete your application through your financial institution gather supporting documentation for all your Eligible Non-Deferrable Expenses (receipts, invoices and agreements). Use the CEBA Document Upload Website to submit that information and complete the application. Sign your agreement to the loan and Attest to several items, including that your business was negatively affected by COVID-19 measures. Wait to receive CEBA funding Things to remember after you receive CEBA: Include the CEBA forgivable portion as income in the year you receive the CEBA loan for tax purposes Repay your loan before December 31, 2023, to get the forgivable portion	Apply for the CEBA expansion at the financial institution that funded your CEBA. No additional documentation is required Sign your agreement to the loan and Attest to several items including that your business was negatively affected by COVID-19 measures Things to remember after you receive CEBA: Include the CEBA forgivable portion as income in the year you receive the CEBA loan for tax purposes Repay your loan before December 31, 2023, to get the forgivable portion

If you have not yet received CEBA

If you have already received CEBA

Fill out the pre-screen questionnaire
Find a financial institution that provides the CEBA loan (if necessary)
Open a business bank account (if necessary)
Apply for either
- The Payroll stream
  
  You can apply for CEBA under the payroll stream through your financial institution. 233 financial institutions provide CEBA across Canada.
  
  Once your application is submitted, Export Development Canada (EDC) will assess it and inform your financial institution of the loan’s approval or denial. If approved, your financial institution will provide you with the funds.
- Non-deferrable expense stream:
  
  When applying for CEBA under the Eligible Non-Deferrable Expense Stream, you must follow a three-step process:
  
  Step 1. Complete the online Pre-Screen Tool. This tool determines if you are eligible, so that you can decide whether to open a business account (if you don’t already have one) before applying for CEBA at your financial institution. If you are declined at this step, you can still apply for CEBA (though your chances of receiving a loan are low) and must complete the following two steps.
  
  Step 2. Ready to apply? Contact your financial institution where you hold your business chequing / operating account. They will direct you to the last step of the application process.
  
  Step 3. Gather your documents. Once you complete your application through your financial institution gather supporting documentation for all your Eligible Non-Deferrable Expenses (receipts, invoices and agreements). Use the CEBA Document Upload Website to submit that information and complete the application.
Sign your agreement to the loan
and

Attest to several items, including that your business was negatively affected by COVID-19 measures.
Wait to receive CEBA funding

Things to remember after you receive CEBA:

Include the CEBA forgivable portion as income in the year you receive the CEBA loan for tax purposes
Repay your loan before December 31, 2023, to get the forgivable portion

Apply for the CEBA expansion at the financial institution that funded your CEBA. No additional documentation is required
Sign your agreement to the loan
and

Attest to several items including that your business was negatively affected by COVID-19 measures

Things to remember after you receive CEBA:

Include the CEBA forgivable portion as income in the year you receive the CEBA loan for tax purposes
Repay your loan before December 31, 2023, to get the forgivable portion

Where can I find the status of my CEBA application or the reason for my CEBA rejection?

Can I join a different financial institution to get the CEBA?

If my financial institution stops offering me their financial services, can they discontinue my CEBA?

Are CEBA and the CEBA expansion taxable?

What if I receive an email saying that my CEBA expansion application was “not successful”?

What if I am not eligible for CEBA?

What if I am eligible for CEBA, but got rejected?

If I am rejected for CEBA, can I apply until I am accepted?

Other CEBA Resources

CFIB Resources

Government Resources

How is CFIB advocating for small business on CEBA?

What we have achieved:

We pushed for the government to increase CEBA to $60,000 from the original $40,000.
We worked to get the government to expand access to businesses using personal accounts – which they have now done.

What we’re pushing for:

Immediately include new firms.
Make it easier for small firms without a formal payroll to access CEBA, including those with less than $40,000 in non-deferrable expenses.
Further increase the amount forgiven to 50%.

How you can help:

Join our push for better relief measures by signing our COVID-19 petition.

SIGN THE PETITION

Visit our COVID-19 Help Centre

Our primary concern at CFIB is making sure you have the support you need to get through this uncertain and challenging time. We provide you with expert advice and ensure that you have all of the latest information on government announcements and available support.

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