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SBA Loans &
CARES Act Information
for Dentists

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Small Business Administration (SBA) CARES Act Information

The CARES Act will provide much needed working capital to dentists during this crisis through three Small Business Administration (SBA) loan options. Our team has reviewed and analyzed the bill, providing a high-level summary of each loan option below. As more information develops, we will update this page, so check back frequently.

Each of the three SBA loan options has different benefits, requirements and eligibility. If you aren’t sure which option is best for your situation right now, It doesn’t hurt to apply for more than one loan—but you can only choose one to receive money from.

Loan OPTION 1

The SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL)

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Get Help Applying

Our eAssist Team is here and ready to help you complete your SBA EIDL Application. You can click here to email us, or call 1-844-eAssist for help. This service is free of charge, whether your’re an eAssist client or not.

Maximum Amount of the Loan:

$2 million

Interest Rate

3.75% for small businesses; 2.75% for non-profits

Eligibility

Any business concern non-profit organization (501(c)3), veterans organization (501(c)19) or tribal business which employs less than 500 employees (per location) or meets size standard. Sole proprietors, independent contractors, and eligible self-employed individuals. Nonprofits receiving Medicaid expenses are ineligible.

Turnaround Time
  1. For the first 1,000,000 entities, a cash grant that does not have to be repaid of $10,000 is available within 3 days. (A provision to set aside $10 billion to be used directly for this purpose is in the CARES Act--hence the reason why this 10,000 grant is limited).
  2. The rest of the loan may take 3-6 months before the money is received.
Term

Up to 30 years

Deferment

Up to 6 months

Personal Guarantee

Required, but may be waived—yet to be determined.

Forgiveness

$10,000 of any cash advance, if used to maintain payroll and monthly expenses.

Loan OPTION 2

The SBA 7(a) Express Loan

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Get Help Applying

You can apply for an SBA 7(a) Express Loan at many local banks. You can find a list of approved SBA lenders here. Alternatively, you can apply through a broker like Lendio.com for no additional fee.

Maximum Amount of the Loan:

$1 million

Interest Rate

4% (maximum)

Eligibility

Any business concern non-profit organization (501(c)3), veterans organization (501(c)19) or tribal business which employs less than 500 employees (per location) or meets size standard. Sole proprietors, independent contractors, and eligible self-employed individuals. Nonprofits receiving Medicaid expenses are ineligible.

Turnaround Time

36 hours

Term

10 years

Deferment

Up to 6 months

Personal Guarantee

Not required

Collateral

Not required for loans up to $25,000; may be required for more than that

Usage of Loan Proceeds

The SBA enforces limitations on how a business owner can use the funds provided. The funds must be used in accordance with the guidelines for SBA 7(a) loan usage. That said, SBA loans are well known to cover a wide variety of central business activities, making them an invaluable resource for any small business. You can find a summary of acceptable uses for SBA 7(a) Loan Proceeds here.

Loan OPTION 3

The SBA 7(a) Paycheck Protection
Program (PPP) Loan

Find a lender
Get Help Applying

You can apply for an SBA 7(a) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan at many local banks. You can find a list of approved SBA lenders here. Alternatively, you can apply through a broker using Lendio.com at no additional application cost.

You can find a copy of the expected 7(a) PPP Loan application here, this is the most recent version (version 3) from the United States Treasury. You may also find their recently published PPP Borrower’s Fact Sheet helpful at this time.

Maximum Amount of the Loan:

2.5 times the employer’s average payroll costs during the 1-year period before the loan is taken, up to $10 million. Which includes the following:

  • Wages: W2 employees and (according to many lenders) independent contractors. However, there is conflicting information about the inclusion of IC wages, and it is likely to change from lender to lender.
  • Tips
  • Family Medical Leave (FML)
  • Health benefits
  • Retirement
  • State and local taxes
Estimate Your Loan with Our PPP Loan Calculator
Usage of Loan Proceeds

Payroll costs, employee salaries, mortgage payments, rent, utilities, and interest on debt incurred or in place before 2/15/2020.

Eligibility

Any business concern non-profit organization (501(c)3), veterans organization (501(c)19) or tribal business which employs less than 500 employees (per location) or meets size standard. Sole proprietors, independent contractors, and eligible self-employed individuals. Non-profits receiving Medicaid expenses are ineligible.

Interest Rate

Currently set at 1% (CARES Act allows for 4% maximum) on anything left over that isn’t forgiven.

Turnaround Time

2-4 weeks

Term

Currently set at 2 years, with a maximum of 10 years according to the CARES Act

Deferment

Up to 6 months

Personal Guarantee

Not required

Forgiveness

This loan does have a forgiveness feature that begins on the date your loan originates, if the funds are used within 8 weeks. Forgiveness of the loan is allowed even if you laid off employees after Feb 15, so long as you rehire to the same number of full-time employees at the same pay rate by June 30, 2020. If you don’t rehire the same number of full-time employees, a portion of your loan will not be forgiven (a formula is used). Applicable payments made on the following items may be eligible for forgiveness:

  • Payroll (including paid sick, medical or family leave)
  • Group health benefits
  • Rent
  • Mortgage interest
  • Utilities

Loan forgiveness rules:

  • The maximum forgiveness period covers 8 weeks and starts at the loan origination date.
  • The amount of forgiveness can be reduced by any change in staffing or payroll expenses.
  • Amounts forgiven shall be excluded from taxable income.
  • Businesses may not be forgiven for amounts paid for leave if they are eligible for a tax credit to offset the cost.
  • No more than 25% of the forgiveness amount can be for non-payroll expenses (subject to change by the SBA).

You can learn more about the 7(a) PPP Loan forgiveness rules here.

Estimate Your SBA 7(a) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Amount & Forgiveness

We created this 7(a) PPP Loan calculator to help dentists and practice owners as they seek financial peace of mind in the midst of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. Please know that we aren’t accountants or lawyers, we’re just dentists seeking to help our fellow dentists.

PPPcalc-preview PPP loan CALCULATOR
sba
WEBINAR RECORDING AVAILABLE

What the $2 Trillion CARES Act
Means for Dentistry’s Survival &
Which SBA Loan Option is Best
for Your Dental Practice

Panelists: Warren Willis, DMD,
Taylor Anderson, JD, MBA, Brian Borg, DMD,
and James Anderson, DMD

WATCH THE RECORDING

22 Steps a Dentists Can Take to Get Financial Relief Right Now

  1. Apply for a Small Business Administration Loan. There are three options available from the CARES Act: SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), the SBA 7(a) Express Loan, or the SBA 7(a) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan. If you aren’t sure which is best for your situation right now, It doesn’t hurt to apply for all three—but you can only choose one to receive money from.

  2. Check the eAssist Dental Financial Relief Map for more information relief loans in your state. There may be additional disaster recovery funds available from your local and state governments. Go to map

  3. Stop paying on current SBA Loans for the next 6 months. The SBA will pay them for you.

  4. Stop all tax payments to the IRS. Even 2020 quarterly tax estimates. Note that the 2019 tax filing deadline has been extended to at least July 15th.More info

  5. Contact the bank that holds your practice loan. Ask them to stop payments and to reduce your interest rate. If they aren’t willing to reduce your rate, refinance your practice loan with an institution that will.

  6. Call your landlord and request rent abatement.

  7. Pull up to $100k from your 401k or other retirement vehicles without a penalty if needed.

  8. Stop payments on your federal student loans.More info

  9. Call your business insurance provider to discuss if your policy will cover this disruption. Even if it doesn’t, we recommend filing a claim in the chance that laws change to force insurance companies to remove this clause.

  10. Stop non-essential autopayments withdrawing from your bank account. It's important that you pay your bills, but you want to be in control of your cash flow. Pay by check during this critical time in order to do so.

  11. Lock your credit cards (if available) or call your credit card companies and ask for new credit cards with new numbers to be sent to you in order for you to control what is being charged automatically to your cards. This will help you control what expenses you are authorizing.

  12. Take advantage of other potential tax savings under the CARES Act. Some examples include the ability to carryback 100% of losses as far as 2013 to offset taxable income, increase in the amount of deductible interest expense, etc.

  13. Refinance your mortgage, practice loan, building loan, commercial loan, and all other applicable loans. Take advantage of the interest rates while they are low and refinance while you can.

  14. Under the CARES Act, you may be eligible to receive a credit against employment taxes through the end of the year equal to 50% of qualified wages.

  15. Request forbearance if you have a federally-backed mortgage. You can get 180 days forebearance, extendable for another 180 days.

  16. Defer payment of the employer share of social security tax through the end of the year (to be repaid over the next two years).

  17. Contact your utility providers, supply company, lab, and other vendors. Ask vendors for net-90 payment terms without interest (no payment needed for 90 days interest free), discounts, and put auto-orders on hold effective immediately.

  18. Guide your team to file for unemployment, even if they are working reduced hours. Your team may still qualify for unemployment-- if they’ve been furloughed or if their hours have been reduced. We do not recommend you lay off any team members at this time. Your people need your support now more than ever. It’s the right thing to do.

  19. Check the eAssist Dental Financial Relief Map for more information unemployment coverage options available in your state. Go to map

  20. Keep your cash flow up by following up on all aging and previous claims. Insurance companies are still open and paying claims. If you or your team aren’t able to do this in-house at this time, you can outsource this to eAssist. We can keep your collections and cash flow up, even if you’re facing closures—we only get paid if you get paid. Contact eAssist

  21. Set up EFT payments from insurance companies and utilize portal submissions for claims to make sure you’re getting money in your bank account faster.

  22. Sign the ADA petition for a federal disaster relief for dental practices Sign the petition

eASSIST DENTAL FINANCIAL RELIEF MAP

Find your state’s disaster relief loans & financial support options for dentists and teams

Our interactive map is being updated every day, in real-time, to reflect the best disaster relief loans and financial support options for your state. Have questions or need help filing for your loan? Our eAssist team is here for you—whether you’re a client or not.

click here to view funds
available in your state
Dr. Anderson video message

A message from our cEO

Curveballs are hard to hit. Although we heard reports of this virus in January in China, most of us didn’t suspect that it would affect the Americas. When Rudy Gobert was diagnosed and the NBA suspended their operations, everything changed—except our core purpose. eAssist exists to “Deliver Peace of Mind.”

As we collectively pause the practice of dentistry, we invite you to allow our eAssist team members to help you get all the money that is rightfully yours not only from dental insurance companies but also from government, business insurance, and other programs.

Let us assist you in applying for an SBA disaster relief loan, file your business insurance provider claim, stop payment on student loans, help refinance your practice and commercial loans, and all other programs available right now to help you provide for your team and prepare for your eventual return to the chair.

We will help you and together we will succeed.

James V. Anderson, DMD CEO, eAssist Dental Solutions

Helpful Resources for Dentists Impacted by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

What you can do now

Apply for all loans available in your state, check the eAssist Dental Financial Relief Map for more information on relief options in your state. If you're not sure where to start in your application for the SBA Disaster Loan, our team can help. Contact your eAssist team, or call 1-844-eAssist. We are here for you.

What we’re doing for your dental practice

We’re still fighting for every dollar rightfully owed to you.

We’re still submitting existing claims and appealing denials whether your office is open or closed.

We’re still delivering our promise of peace of mind and collect 100% of what is owed to you.

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Helping us to help you

If you decide to close your office, please keep your eAssist computers and connected devices on so we can keep your collections and billing running smoothly.

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