Small business owners will have an additional year before they need to pay back disaster loans they received during the pandemic.
The federal government provided thousands of low-interest pandemic relief loans to help small businesses and non-profits pay debts, payroll and other bills.
The Economic Injury Disaster Loans have gone to more than 7,700 South Dakota businesses. Jaime Wood directs the South Dakota office for the Small Business Administration. She says the definition for federal loans is different because of COVID-19.
“The Paycheck Protection Program and the emergency injury disaster loan programs were some flagship resources that SBA offers to try to help small businesses get through this natural disaster. And the pandemic is considered a natural disaster.”
The federal government reports South Dakota businesses have gotten $476 million in disaster loans.
Wood encourages small businesses and non-profits to apply for loans to ease financial burdens from the ongoing pandemic.
“The payments were deferred for 12 months and so many small businesses and non-profits that received this earlier last year, they're coming up now on the end of their 12-month deferment period and so those payments were going to begin. However, through the Biden administration, this got extended and now SBA has deferred those payments out for an additional year.”
Wood says disaster loan payments will now start in 2022.
Applications for federal loans from the Small Business Administration are open through the end of the year.
