CEBA repayment and partial loan forgiveness deadline is weeks away

CTV National News: Deadline day for small business The deadline for Canadian businesses to repay CEBA pandemic loans is here. CTV News' Sarah Plowman has more on what that means.

The federal government says the extended repayment deadline for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loan is now weeks away.

In September, Canada extended the repayment deadline for CEBA loans to qualify for partial loan forgiveness of up to 33 per cent from Dec. 31, 2023, to Jan. 18, 2024.

The government said for CEBA loan holders who file a refinancing application with the financial institution that provided their loan by Jan. 18, 2024, the repayment deadline to qualify for partial loan forgiveness includes a refinancing extension until March 28, 2024.

"This will allow more small businesses and not-for-profits to access relief and give them more time to hear back from their financial institutions on refinancing applications," officials stated in a recent news release.

As of Jan. 19, 2024, any outstanding CEBA loans will convert to three-year term loans with an interest rate of five per cent per year, with the term loan repayment date extended from Dec. 31, 2025, to Dec 31, 2026.

"Put simply, small businesses and not-for-profits will automatically have access to a three-year, low-interest loan of up to $60,000 if they have not repaid or refinanced their loan. This will provide those who are unable to secure refinancing or generate enough cashflow to repay their loans by the forgiveness deadline an additional year to continue repayment at a low borrowing cost," the release stated.

For CEBA loan holders who pay back their loan on or before Jan. 18, 2024 (or March, 28, 2024 if a refinancing application was submitted properly), the government will forgive $10,000 for a $40,000 loan and $20,000 for a $60,000 loan.

The government said financial institutions will contact CEBA loan holders directly about their loans.

The CEBA program was available from April 2020 to June 2021 and provided $49 billion in interest-free, partially forgivable loans of up to $60,000 to thousands of small businesses and not-for-profit organizations, helping them cover their operating costs during the pandemic.