Disaster Financial Assistance

Disaster Financial Assistance for Workers and Small Business Owners
Disaster Financial Assistance with Food, Housing, and Bills
Financial Assistance Within Designated Natural Disaster Areas

Disaster Financial Assistance for Workers and Small Business Owners

If you’ve been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, learn how you could qualify for unemployment benefits, paid leave, and more. Get financial help from the government if you own a small business. Find out about the CARES Act and how it can help you.

Unemployment Benefits and the Coronavirus

The federal government has allowed states to change their laws to provide COVID unemployment benefits for people whose jobs have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Contact your state’s unemployment insurance program for more information and to apply for benefits.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 authorizes:

An extension through September 6, 2021 for people already receiving unemployment benefits.
Automatic, additional payments of $300 per week until September 6, 2021 to everyone qualified for unemployment benefits
Extension of the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program for self-employed or gig workers

COVID Stimulus Checks for Individuals

NEW: On March 11, 2021, as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, $1,400 Economic Impact stimulus payments for qualifying individuals were approved. You do not need to do anything to receive your payment.

Check the Get My Payment page from the IRS to find out when you'll get your payment and to learn how to get the previous two stimulus checks if you qualified but didn't receive them.

Information on the Previous Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021

Read frequently asked questions about who qualified and more.

The IRS began issuing direct deposits and mailing paper stimulus checks on December 30, 2020.
You may have instead received your payment on a prepaid debit card.

Information on the Previous CARES Act Stimulus Checks, April 2020

This information applies only to CARES Act payments, distributed during the spring of 2020.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued one-time stimulus checks for most individuals who qualified for them. These payments were authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed on March 27, 2020.

Learn About Stimulus Payments Sent Via Prepaid Card

The Treasury Department announced on May 18 that almost four million stimulus payments will go out as prepaid Visa debit cards. Watch this Economic Impact Payment Prepaid Cards video to learn about activating and using the card.

Payments Made to People Who Have Died Must Be Returned

If a stimulus check arrives for someone who has died, you must return it to the IRS.

See the IRS guidance about payments made after someone dies in Q12.
Follow the IRS instructions for how to return the stimulus payment.

Nursing Homes and Care Facilities Cannot Claim Residents’ Stimulus Payments

According to the IRS, your stimulus check belongs to you, even if:

You are in a nursing home or assisted living facility
Your facility receives the payment
You are on Medicaid

Check Payment Status or Provide Direct Deposit Information to the IRS

Go to the IRS page Get My Payment to check your payment’s status. For more information on what the payment status codes mean, see the IRS stimulus payment information center.

In some cases, you can also enter your direct deposit information in the Get My Payment tool. For help, see the questions and answers about entering banking information into the tool. You can also check the "Update your bank account or mailing address" section on the Economic Impact Payments page.

Most People Don’t Need to Do Anything to Get Their Stimulus Check

You will not have to do anything to receive your payment by direct deposit or check if:

You filed a tax return for 2019 or 2018, or
You receive Social Security payments, even if you normally don’t file a tax return.

Income Eligibility for Coronavirus Stimulus Checks

Individuals, including Social Security recipients, earning $75,000 or less will receive a $1,200 payment.
Married couples filing joint returns with incomes of $150,000 or less will receive a $2,400 payment.
People with incomes higher than those levels will receive partial payments. Individuals earning more than $99,000 and couples earning more than $198,000 will not receive any payment, unless they have children.
Parents of qualifying children will get a one-time payment of $500 per child.

Previous CARES Act Non Tax-Filers Who Didn't Provide Stimulus Payment Information to the IRS by October 15 May Be Able to Receive Payment in 2021

Some people who weren’t required to file a tax return had to provide basic information to the IRS to get their CARES Act check. These included very low-income workers and some veterans. If you were in this category and you submitted your information by October 15, 2020, you should receive your payment by the end of the year.

If You Missed the October 15 Deadline, You May Be Eligible For the Payment in 2021

If you didn't get a payment in 2020, or if you received less than the full amount you were entitled to, such as $500 for each qualifying child, you may be able to get the difference in 2021. See the IRS information for filing for the CARES Act stimulus payment in 2021.

Coronavirus Financial Help for Small Businesses

The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers programs that can help your business if it’s been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) offers loans to help small businesses and non-profits keep their workers employed. If you follow the guidelines, your loan may be forgiven. And if your business has gotten its first PPP loan (draw), it may be eligible for a second draw.

Get the latest information from the SBA about the Paycheck Protection Program, including program details, who can apply, loan forgiveness, and frequently asked questions.

You can apply for a PPP Loan until March 31, 2021.

Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL)

An Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) helps small businesses and nonprofits that are losing money during the coronavirus pandemic and that need funds for financial obligations and operating expenses.

SBA is accepting applications for EIDLs until December 31, 2021.

Apply online for a COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan.

SBA Express Bridge Loans

If your business has a relationship with an SBA Express lender, you may be able to borrow up to $25,000 quickly under the SBA Express Bridge Loan program.

SBA Debt Relief

SBA’s Debt Relief Program pays the principal, interest, and fees for six months for 7(a), 504, and Microloans disbursed before September 27, 2020. Beginning in February 2021, that relief will be extended for certain businesses.

For details, see the “Small Business Debt Relief Program” section, page 9 of the Small Business Owner’s Guide to COVID-19 Relief Legislation.

CARES Act Provides Relief for Individuals and Businesses

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, or stimulus package, was signed into law on March 27, 2020. It offers help in many forms for individuals and businesses affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Read the full text of the CARES Act.

Help for Individuals: Stimulus Checks

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will be issuing one-time payments for many individuals starting in late April 2020. Most people won’t have to do anything to get their stimulus check. Find out if you qualify for a stimulus payment, if you’ll have to do anything to get it, and when you might receive it.

Help for Individuals: Expansion of Unemployment Benefits

The CARES Act expands eligibility, amount, and duration of benefits for people impacted by the coronavirus. Read about those and other coronavirus-related changes to unemployment benefits.

Home Loan Relief: Federally-Backed Mortgages

Single family homeowners with federally-backed mortgages get two types of financial help:

Protection from eviction and foreclosure through mid-May
Reduced or postponed mortgage payments for up to a year

Renter Relief: Multi-Family Homes With Federally-Backed Mortgages

If you live in an apartment building with a federally-backed mortgage, you're safe from eviction through December 31, 2020. Read more about that and about renter relief from some states.

Credit Report Protection

If you're affected by the coronavirus pandemic, you can ask a creditor to make an accommodation to defer or modify your payments. If you follow that agreement, your creditor cannot change your credit report status; if you were up-to-date in your payments before the accommodation, your creditor must still report you as current. If you were delinquent in your payments before the accommodation, your creditor will continue to report you as delinquent until you bring the account current.