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 31st, 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. |
Existing Non-Deferrable Expense Stream applicants:
- Initial document submission deadline: July 14, 2021 (now closed)
- Document resubmission deadline: September 3, 2021 (now closed)
$20,000 expansion applicants required to submit more information related to their Business Number:
- Deadline to submit additional information: September 10, 2021 (now closed)
$20,000 expansion applicants required to requalify under Non-Deferrable Expense Stream:
- Initial document submission deadline: October 1, 2021 (now closed)
- Document resubmission deadline: October 29, 2021 (now closed)
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:
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Payroll stream eligibility:
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Non-deferrable expense stream eligibility:
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:
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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 |
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Rent or lease payments for real estate |
This excludes:
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Payments incurred for business insurance-related costs |
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Business rent/lease for capital equipment |
This excludes:
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Payments incurred for property taxes | Property tax bill dated 2020 |
Utility payments incurred by the business | Contract signed before March 1, 2020, for:
This excludes:
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Payments for regularly scheduled debt service |
What is excluded or unacceptable through the CEBA application portal:
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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.
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Payments incurred for materials consumed to produce a product ordinarily offered for sale by the borrower. | Input materials that:
Examples of this include raw materials for the production of your product such as:
This excludes:
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If you have not yet received CEBA | If you have already received CEBA |
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Things to remember after you receive CEBA:
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Things to remember after you receive CEBA:
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Go to the CEBA application status website and enter the following information:
- The name of the financial institution through which you applied for CEBA
- Your 9-digit CRA business number
- The applicable T1, T2, T2 Short, or T4 summary used in your application.
If you have recently applied for CEBA, please allow at least five business days before checking your status.
Note: The information available on the application status website is the same information available through the CEBA Call Centre.
The CEBA self-service application status guide will take you step-by-step through the website.
Yes, you can apply for CEBA with a different financial institution. We recommend that you complete the CEBA pre-screen tool before opening a new business account to apply for CEBA (some financial institutions require this step). If you want to make a switch, consider our partner Scotiabank, who offers CFIB members exclusive discounts.
EDC has stated that any instances of this should be brought up through the CEBA call centre (1-888-324-4201) as an escalation. Once a CEBA loan has been deposited into an account by the Government of Canada through a financial institution, the financial institution is not allowed to discontinue the loan or refuse a CEBA expansion.
If you are not certain of your CEBA loan status, check the CEBA Application Status Website or call the CEBA call centre at 1-888-324-2401.
If your bank is not allowing you to get your CEBA after it was approved, please share your story with us at [email protected].
Yes, and no.
For both CEBA and the CEBA expansion, only the amount of the loan that was forgivable in the year it was received is taxable. The rest of your CEBA funding is considered a repayable loan. You do not need to include it in your revenue. You can declare your forgivable loan portion to the CRA in one of two ways:
- As revenue in your tax return. Elect to include the forgivable loan amount in your business income the year you receive CEBA.
OR
- As a business expense. Reduce the deduction for your business expense by the amount of the forgivable loan.
Need more advice? Contact your accountant or the CRA to get accurate advice on your CEBA reporting requirements.
You may receive an email stating that your application was not successful as additional information is required regarding your CRA Business Number. This is not uncommon. If you get one of these e-mails, you should:
- Double-check that your CRA Business Number information is correct in your CEBA application.
- Ensure that you applied to the right CEBA stream. If you accidentally applied to the payroll stream, get your non-deferrable expenses ready to try to apply to the non-deferrable expenses stream when your financial institution contacts you. If you have not heard from your financial institution by the end of February, check your CEBA status online or contact the CEBA call centre at 1-888-324-4201. If you are in this situation, please share your story with us at [email protected].
If you are not eligible for CEBA, the federal government has funded other loan alternatives:
The Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) have a suite of programs that vary by sector. For more information visit our RDA hub-page.
What are the Regional Development Agencies (RDA)?
- Atlantic Canada Opportunity Agency (ACOA) - NS/NB/PE/NL
- Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) - QC
- Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency - YT/NT/NU
- FedDev Ontario - Southern Ontario
- FedNor - Northern Ontario
- Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) - AB/BC/MB/SK
Community Futures. If you are not eligible for the RRRF, contact your local Community Futures program to determine if you are eligible for their RRRF plan.
If you still fall through the cracks of COVID relief programs, please share your story with us at [email protected].
- Check your status on the CEBA Application Status Website or call the CEBA Call Centre. If you have already applied for CEBA and have questions, do not call the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as the CRA does not administer CEBA. Instead, contact the dedicated CEBA Call Centre at 1-888-324-4201. If you need to confirm your CRA Business Number information, CRA’s Business Enquiries line can help you at 1-800-959-5525.
What you can ask the CEBA Call Centre:
- What is the status of my application?
- Why was my application declined?
- Why was my submitted document rejected?
If no one is available to take your call, you can leave a message. An agent will return your call within three business days, Monday through Friday, from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm EST.
CEBA expansion validations may take longer than usual. After applying you may have no choice but to wait for your financial institution to let you know when to reapply.
- Call your financial institution's customer service line or branch line to be assigned to an account manager. They can walk you through your application and help you determine the reason for your rejection. Email [email protected] and include:
- Your legal business name (according to your financial institution)
- The name of your financial institution
- A summary of your situation
- Your contact information
You can also share your situation with a CFIB Business Counsellor at 1-888-234-2232 or by email at [email protected].
If you are rejected due to a need to update your financial institution’s profile, you may need to wait 24-48 hours for the update before you apply again.
If you are rejected due to an inputting error, you can apply again.
- EDC - Canada Emergency Business Account website
- EDC - CEBA Document Upload instruction guide
- EDC Document Upload FAQ
- EDC - CEBA pre-screen tool instruction guide
- CEBA Call Centre for technical issues: 1-888-324-4201
How is CFIB advocating for small business on CEBA?
What we have achieved:
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.
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.