Iowa businesses have been approved for billions in Iowa Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) by the The Small Business Administration (SBA).
You can use the Iowa EIDL loan you receive through the SBA’s EIDL program to cover day-to-day activities in your Iowa business without paying high interest rates.
It is important to be aware of a few important restrictions on Iowa EIDL before you begin spending the funds.
Iowa Economic Injury Disaster Loans
If you have suffered substantial economic injury and are one of the following types of businesses located in an Iowa declared disaster area, you may be eligible for a SBA EIDL:
- Iowa small business.
- Iowa small agricultural cooperative.
- Iowa most private nonprofit organizations.
Iowa EIDL Loan Eligibility
- Substantial economic injury means the Iowa business is unable to meet its obligations and pay its ordinary and necessary operating expenses.
- Iowa EIDL provides the necessary working capital to help small businesses impacted by a disaster survive until normal operations resume.
- Iowa EIDL assistance is available only to small businesses when SBA determines they are unable to obtain credit elsewhere.
Iowa SBA can provide up to $2 million* to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses that could have been met had the disaster not occurred. The loan amount will be based on your actual economic injury and your Iowa company’s financial needs, regardless of whether the business suffered any property damage.
An Iowa business may qualify for, both, an EIDL and a physical disaster loan.
Iowa EIDL Loan Approval Process
Iowa has approved 18,390 EIDL applications totaling $1,737,500,670 in SBA EIDL loans.
The U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is a federal small business loan program that financially supports Iowa small businesses’ economic injury recovery from a natural disaster or from the COVID-19 disaster affecting Iowa businesses.
Learn more about the Iowa EIDL Loan Approval Process. You can still apply for the Iowa ERC tax credit, even if you received an EIDL loan.
What Can Iowa EIDL Loans Be Used For?
Iowa EIDL loans may be used to provide working capital necessary for business operations, as well as for expenditures needed to mitigate the effects of a pandemic.
Spending and debts in this category include working capital, prior business debt (for example, mortgages and credit card debts) payroll, continuation of health care benefits, rent, maintenance, utilities, and fixed debt payments. Expanding an Iowa business cannot be done with EIDL loans.
A loan from the Iowa EIDL may be used to fund renovations that have already been completed, but cannot be used to expand the business or repay debt owed to a federal agency.
Borrowers may use EIDL working capital loan proceeds to make regular payments for operating expenses and to:
- Pay or prepay Iowa business non-federal debt incurred at any time (past or future), including monthly payments, payments of deferred interest;
- Pay regularly scheduled payments on federal debt;
- Payroll;
- Rent/mortgage;
- Utilities; and
- Other ordinary Iowa business expenses.
How Iowa EIDL Can’t Be Used?
There are different ways that you clearly cannot use disaster loan proceeds and these are included under the section that includes ineligible use of proceeds:
Iowa EIDL proceeds may not be used for:
- Payment of any dividends or bonuses;
- Disbursements to Iowa owners, partners, officers, directors, or stockholders, except when directly related to performance of services for the benefit of the applicant;
- Repayment of stockholder / principal loans, except when the funds were injected on an interim basis as a result of the disaster and non-repayment would cause undue hardship to the stockholder/principal;
- Expansion of facilities or acquisition of fixed assets;
- Repair or replacement of physical damages;
- Refinancing long term debt;
- Paying down (including regular installment payments) or paying off loans provided, or owned by another Federal agency (including SBA) or a Small Business Investment Company licensed under the Small Business Investment Act. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is not considered a Federal agency for this purpose;
- Payment of any part of a direct Federal debt, (including SBA loans) except IRS obligations;
- Pay any penalty resulting from noncompliance with a law, regulation or order of a Federal, state, regional, or local agency;
- Contractor malfeasance; and
- Relocation.
What’s Best Practice for Tracking the Use of Iowa EIDL Funds?
The easiest way to track how your Iowa EIDL funds are being used is to keep them in a separate bank account. For SBA review, you can provide bank statements showing the entire transaction history related to your EIDL funds.
While you aren’t required to submit documents automatically, you should keep careful records of how you spend Iowa EIDL proceeds in case the SBA or another governmental agency requests it in the future. In the same way that there have been audits and inspections of past disasters, some of these loans will also be scrutinized.
It is not necessary to use a certain Iowa business account to spend money. Just keep track of all eligible expenditures that you can attribute to the EIDL. While you are in possession of the loan, if prompted by the SBA, it is up to you to self-report what business activities you used the funds for.
Conclusion and Summary
Managing your Iowa EIDL loan properly will allow you to maximize its benefits, so you need to know what you can and cannot do with it.
Hiring an EIDL Loan Advisor in Iowa allows small business owners to focus on what matters most when growing their companies, and without having to worry about how they’ll secure SBA loan financing when they want or need it most. In a time of great need like COVID or other natural disaster that disrupts or damages their Iowa business.
Does Your Iowa Business Need an Increase or Loan Modification to Your Existing SBA EIDL Loan?
Did you already receive an Iowa SBA EIDL loan for your Iowa business?
We can assist your business in requesting additional SBA EIDL loan funds through the increase request and loan modification process in Iowa.
Schedule Your Free Disaster Loan Consultation to see if we may be able to help your business with the SBA Increase Request Process in Iowa.
Was Your Iowa SBA EIDL Loan Denied?
Has your Iowa SBA EIDL loan been denied for your IA business?
We can assist you in filing for an SBA EIDL loan reconsideration appeal for your business in Iowa.
Schedule Your Free Disaster Loan Consultation to see if we may be able to help your business with the SBA Loan Reconsideration Process in Iowa.
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