Small business in Texas eligible for economic injury disaster loans

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - Economic injury disaster loans are now available to small businesses in Texas.

Nearly 200 Texas counties, including the Brazos Valley, can now apply for loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“It’s important to support small businesses and when there is any type of natural disaster, the need for capital access gets even more acute, " said Susheel Kumar of the U.S. Small Business Administration. “The SBA worked with several other federal agencies to request these economic disaster injury loan funds.”

The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture declared an agricultural disaster that impacted 194 small nonfarm businesses in Texas counties including Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Houston, Leon, Madison, Robertson, Walker, and Washington counties.

These loans offset economic losses because of reduced revenues caused by excessive heat that occurred May 1 - Sept. 30, 2022, according to the SBA.

The law authorizes loan terms up to a maximum of 30 years. SBA will determine an appropriate installment payment based on the financial condition of each borrower, which in turn will determine the loan term.

Small nonfarm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations of any size may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses which could have been met had the disaster not occurred.

Loan Eligibility Restrictions:

The applicant’s business must be located in the declared disaster area.
Only uninsured or otherwise uncompensated disaster losses are eligible.
The economic injury must have been the direct result of the declared disaster.
Nurseries are only eligible for economic injury caused by declared drought disasters.
By law, agricultural enterprises such as farmers and ranchers are not eligible for any type of SBA assistance.
Applicants who have not complied with the terms of previous SBA loans are not eligible. This includes borrowers who did not maintain the flood and/or hazard insurance on previous SBA loans.
Loan assistance is available only to the extent the business and its owners cannot meet necessary financial obligations due to the disaster. This determination is made by SBA.

Working capital loans help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private, nonprofit organizations of all sizes meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster. These loans are intended to assist through the disaster recovery period.

Applicants may apply online at https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/, call the SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955, or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance.

Credit Requirements:

Credit History – Applicants must have a credit history acceptable to SBA.
Repayment – Applicants must show the ability to repay the loan.
Collateral – Collateral is required for all EIDL loans over $25,000. SBA takes real estate as collateral when it is available. SBA will not decline a loan for lack of collateral, but SBA will require the borrower to pledge collateral that is available.

Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

The deadline to apply for economic injury is Sept. 13, 2023. You can learn more about how to apply at www.sba.gov.

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