How to Complete the EIDL Application as an Independent Contractor

The SBA announced yesterday, June 15th, that it was reopening the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), for both the grant and loan portions. If you are an independent contractor (1099), freelancer, or gig worker, that means that you will be eligible for a $1,000 grant, aka, FREE MONEY – IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE REPAID. Here are step-by-step instructions and advice on filling out the application. For these purposes, I went through the application envisioning that I was an Uber/Lyft driver (which at one point, I was). I would estimate that the application will take 30-60 minutes to complete, but feel free to call the SPB team at 423-207-2497 to have us handle it for you.

 

 

– Access the SBA’s application at, covid19relief.sba.gov/#/

 

– Select Option 3 – Applicant is an individual who operates under a sole proprietorship, with or without employees, or as an independent contractor.

 

– Review and check off the next 6 eligibility verification questions, assuming you can truthfully do so. DO NOT LIE; this is the Federal Government, they will catch you.

 

– Proceed to Page 2.

 

– Organization Type: Independent Contractor.

 

– ‘No’ to both Non-Profit and Franchise.

 

– You are then asked for the gross revenues for the last 12 months for your independent contractor business, and the, “Cost of Goods Sold.” You can estimate this based on what happened in 2019. An easy explanation for, “Cost of Goods Sold”, are the expenses incurred in the process of providing your product or service as a freelancer, gig worker, or independent contractor. In the Uber example from earlier, think about things like gas money, oil changes, new tires, etc.

 

– The next 4 questions are optional, answer only if they apply to you.

 

– Fill out the next items with your legal address on file with the IRS.

 

– For the business phone number question, your cell is fine. Similarly, for business email, use your primary personal.

 

– Date Business Was Established – when did you start doing this freelance/1099/gig work? You can estimate if you don’t have the exact date, but make sure it was before January 31, 2020.

 

– Same rule as above applies for Current Ownership Since.

 

– Select the applicable options for Business Activity, and Detailed Business Activity.

 

– Number of Employees is 1.

 

– Proceed to Page 3.

 

 

– “Is your business owned by a business entity?” Select, ‘No’, since you are an individual owner.

 

– Fill out the applicable Name/Phone.

 

– For “Title/Office”, select, ‘Owner’.

 

– ‘Ownership Percent’ should be 100%.

 

– Fill out applicable Email, SSN, DOB, Citizenship Status, and Address where you live.

 

– Proceed to Page 4.

 

 

– Answer the next 3 questions truthfully. Interesting side note , the SBA is now including a question regarding if you have been convicted of a felony, “…during and in connection with a riot or civil disorder or other declared disaster…”.

 

– Select the box where it asks if you would like to be considered for an advance of up to $10,000. This is imperative to receive the $1,000 grant.

 

– Fill out your bank account info.

 

– Check the box confirming your info is truthful and accurate, and Submit!!!

 

 

Congratulations, you have now applied for the SBA’s EIDL Cash Advance Grant! As always, we encourage you to check with your CPAs and Attorneys, or give the team here at SPB a call. Our latest hire, CPA George Fuller, would be happy to assist!