Massage Therapist – Are You Missing Out On Covid-19 Relief Money?

Did you give up? Or are you still seeking financial relief?

If you’re in the United States, it’s obvious that the Fed and the States’ systems can’t handle the new needs of the unemployed during this pandemic.

So, we have to be patient and persistent. But that’s not all we have to be.

We also have to be aware of what we’re eligible for in terms of financial relief.

I thought I knew, but it turns out I didn’t.

So today, let’s turn over every U.S. financial relief stone to see if there is some assistance underneath it.

I’m going to start with the most well-known financial relief stone—the stimulus check.

Stimulus Check

You qualify for a stimulus check of $1200 if you’re “a single US resident and have an adjusted gross income less than $99,000, if you file as the head of a household and under $146,500, or if you file jointly without children and earn less than $198,000.” (Snippet from here.)

If you qualify and haven’t received your check yet, have you tried the direct deposit portal?

Here it is: Direct Deposit Portal

If you’ve tried to set up direct deposit and it just didn’t work out (as you know, there’s no one available at the IRS to talk to help you figure it out) then this an estimate of when your check should arrive:

• Earning $10,000 or less – April 24th
• Earning $20,000 or less – May 1st
• Earning $30,000 or less – May 8th
• Earning $40,000 or less – May 15th
• Earning $50,000 or less – May 22nd
• Earning $60,000 or less – May 29th
• Earning $70,000 or less – June 5th
• Earning $80,000 or less – June 12th
• Earning $90,000 or less – June 19th
• Earning $100,000 or less – June 26th

(Information from Forbes.)

And if you want to go granular, this article explains how you can track your check in the mail.

EID

The Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) can provide up to $2 million of financial assistance…but you know what, I’m going to stop there cuz the big girls and boys drained this puppy already.

However, if you did file for a loan earlier during the first round and haven’t heard anything back, there’s still hope.

Check your email box for this email address: Small Business Administration <news@updates.sba.gov>

You might have an email that says this:

Dear Applicant,

We understand the challenges your business is facing due to the massive disruption caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. You are receiving this message as a notification that your Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) application is currently being processed in the order it was received. You will receive an email notification when there is a change to your application status.

Without question, COVID-19 has caused an extraordinary impact on our nation’s small businesses, and the demand for emergency working capital provided by the EIDL program is at historic levels. The SBA is processing applications from small businesses and private non-profit organizations across the country as quickly as possible. We thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to assist as many applicants as possible.

Additional information on available resources to assist your business during the effects of COVID-19 may be found online at www.sba.gov/coronavirus.

PUA Unemployment

The Cares Act allows states to provide unemployment benefits to “independent contractors and other workers who are ordinarily ineligible for unemployment benefits.” (Source: US Department of Labor)

The official title for unemployment benefits for “individuals who are self-employed, seeking part-time employment, or who otherwise would not qualify for regular unemployment compensation”—that would be us—is PUA (Pandemic Unemployment Assistance).

Who’s paying out PUA?

State governments and the Federal government.

Here’s the states piece:

State unemployment benefits for the pandemic unemployed are available for 39 weeks from January 27, 2020, and ending on or before December 31, 2020. 

The amount you receive per week is determined by each state’s metrics.

Here’s the Federal government’s piece:

The Federal government is providing an additional $600/week to the state’s unemployment benefits beginning after the date when the state entered the agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor and will end on or before July 31, 2020.

So, the Federal government is adding on an additional $600 a week to what the state is providing up until July 31, 2020 (depending if you continue to qualify).

Do you have to go to the state and the Federal government to get both the state and Federal benefits?

No. The administration of all (state and Fed) unemployment benefits for us will happen through the state.

So, if you haven’t filed for unemployment, go here where you can search and find your state’s website.

PPP

PPP stands for Paycheck Protection Program.

Here is the official definition of PPP: “The Paycheck Protection Program is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll. SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities.” (Source: SBA)

Right, it looks you’re out unless you have employees—BUT you’re not since you’ve been affected by Covid-19.

Now you just need to meet these requirements to file (Source: C-Net).

1. The business was in operation on 2/15/2020;
2. The business owner is an individual with self-employment income;
3. The business owner’s principal place of residence is the United States; and
4. The business owner filed, or will file, a Form 1040, Schedule C for 2019.

If you follow the instructions of the loan, you won’t have to pay it back.

Here is where you apply for PPP and can read about loan forgiveness: SBA Gov Funding.

Tax Credit

So, can self-employed get paid sick leave during this pandemic? Well, sort of, yeah. It’s in the form of a tax credit.

The credit is available for sick leave from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. The credit must be claimed on your 2020 tax return.

This can help if you’re paying quarterly taxes because you can reduce your payment by the “leave taken”.

Do you qualify?

If you’ve been ordered to stay at home, then yes. The order could come from local, state, federal government or health care provider.

Total credit is up to 10 days.

Also, if you have a child and her school is closed or the child care provider is not available because of the pandemic, then you can take a paid care-giving leave credit.

To understand the ins and outs of credits, go here.

State Loans

Getting a state loan is a long shot because we are deep in the loan game; however, some loan programs could be getting a second shot of funding, so it might be worth checking out.

Here’s an article that lists business loan opportunities state by state.

Keep an Eye on the Situation

If you’re unable to work because of the Covid-19 pandemic then getting financial relief is your full-time job. Accepting that it’s going to take some digging, patience and persistence is just part of the deal.

If I can help you in anyway, let me know:-)

Stay safe and healthy, and if you want to get my latest information, just sign up for my email group below. It’s free.