Athens-Clarke County will be sending a limited number of brief emails to businesses with Business Occupation Tax Certificates in Athens-Clarke County with important updates over the coming weeks.

Save Small Business Fund Grants of Up to $5,000

The Save Small Business Fund is a grantmaking initiative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation offering short-term relief for small employers in the United States and its territories.

Funded by corporate and philanthropic partners, the Save Small Business Fund is a collective effort to provide $5,000 grants to as many small employers as possible.

To qualify, you must

Employ between 3-20 people
Be located in an economically vulnerable community (the Athens-Clarke County zip codes qualify)
Have been harmed financially by the COVID-19 pandemic

A short application went live on April 20, 2020, at 3:00 p.m. All you will need to apply is your business’s W-9 form.

What you can expect

The application is short. It will take about 10 minutes to complete.
All you will need is your business's W-9 form.
Grants will be awarded on a weekly basis, but you only need to apply one time to be eligible for funding.

To apply or find out more, visit https://savesmallbusiness.com/.

IRS: Employee Retention Tax Credit

The Employee Retention Credit is a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes equal to 50% of the qualified wages an eligible employer pays to employees after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021.

Eligible employers can get immediate access to the credit by reducing employment tax deposits they are otherwise required to make. Also, if the employer's employment tax deposits are not sufficient to cover the credit, the employer may get an advance payment from the IRS.

For each employee, wages (including certain health plan costs) up to $10,000 can be counted to determine the amount of the 50% credit. Because this credit can apply to wages already paid after March 12, 2020, many struggling employers can get access to this credit by reducing upcoming deposits or requesting an advance credit on Form 7200, Advance of Employer Credits Due To COVID-19.

Employers, including tax-exempt organizations, are eligible for the credit if they operate a trade or business during calendar year 2020 and experience either:

the full or partial suspension of the operation of their trade or business during any calendar quarter because of governmental orders limiting commerce, travel, or group meetings due to COVID-19, or
a significant decline in gross receipts.

For more information, view Frequently Asked Questions and visit: www.irs.gov/coronavirus/employee-retention-credit.

Main Street Lending Program

The Main Street Lending Program will enhance support for small and mid-sized businesses that were in good financial standing before the crisis by offering 4-year loans to companies.

Principal and interest payments will be deferred for one year. Eligible banks may originate new Main Street loans or use Main Street loans to increase the size of existing loans to businesses. Banks will retain a 5% share, selling the remaining 95% to the Main Street facility, which will purchase up to $600 billion of loans.

Firms seeking Main Street loans must commit to make reasonable efforts to maintain payroll and retain workers. Borrowers must also follow compensation, stock repurchase, and dividend restrictions that apply to direct loan programs under the CARES Act. Firms that have taken advantage of the PPP may also take out Main Street loans.

For more information, visit https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/main.htm.

Update Emergency Contacts for Police Department

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department asks all businesses to make sure that your emergency contact information is up to date so the Police Department can contact you in the event of an emergency (burglary, fire, unsecure door, etc.) after normal business hours.

A form is available online at www.accgov.com/emergencycontactform or through the button below.

Businesses should be vigilant about locking/securing doors, arming or activating alarm systems, and making sure their emergency contacts are up to date.

If you have any questions, contact the Police Department at 706-613-3330.