CEBA Changes Make More Real Estate Business Models Eligible

By Ellen Baragon, Guest Contributor

More changes have been made to the federal government's Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) that makes the program more available to REALTORS®.   The new provisions address some gaps that were evident when CEBA was first unveiled, which excluded some real estate business models.

The latest amendments to CEBA make the program available to businesses that:

• receive income directly from their businesses
• rely on contractors
• pay employees through dividends rather than payroll, such as family-owned corporations and personal real estate corporations (PREC). (Note that financial aid received under this program is to be used for operating expenses and can not be used for the payout of dividends. Consult legal advice if you have questions about your own business.)

To qualify under the expanded eligibility criteria, applicants with payroll lower than $20,000 would need:

• a business operating account at a participating financial institution;
• a Canada Revenue Agency business number, with filings of 2018 or 2019 tax returns
• eligible non-deferrable expenses between $40,000 and $1.5 million, for costs such as rent, property taxes, utilities and insurance.

More information can be found here: CEBA government site.

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