UPDATE on Feb. 22:
The NC Department of Revenue will temporarily pause accepting Phase 2 applications for Business Recovery Grants as the General Assembly considers increasing eligibility for additional types of businesses.
Legislation creating the Business Recovery Grants limited eligibility to businesses that collect sales tax and made ineligible certain types of service businesses that were severely impacted by the pandemic. Legislative leaders have expressed willingness to examine eligibility before remaining funds are awarded.
The Department of Revenue will continue to process Phase 1 grant awards to approved eligible businesses. Additional applications will not be accepted at this time.
“Our discussions with the General Assembly provided us further insight into the intent of the bill,” said NCDOR Secretary Ronald Penny. “We hope to provide further updates soon.”
The pause in applications does not affect businesses that applied for grants during the original application period. Those businesses may expect to receive communication from NCDOR about the status of their application and payment within the next week.
The NCDOR funds public services benefiting the people of North Carolina. The Department administers the tax laws and collects the taxes due in an impartial, consistent, secure, and efficient manner.
Original article:
The N.C. Department of Revenue (NCDOR) has opened a second application period for the Business Recovery Grant (BRG) program. The BRG will issue a one-time payment to eligible North Carolina businesses that suffered an economic loss of at least 20 percent during the pandemic. The Phase 2 application deadline is March 18.
“These grants are a great opportunity to help smaller businesses across the state as we emerge from the pandemic,” said Gov. Roy Cooper. “Strong businesses provide better paying jobs for North Carolinians and these grants will help with that effort.”
The NCDOR reopened the application because the total amount of grants requested by eligible businesses during the initial application period will not exhaust the $500 million in funds authorized for the program. There were 6,533 applications submitted during the first application period, which closed on Jan. 31. Businesses that submitted applications by the initial deadline and are approved by the NCDOR will be fully funded as determined by the statute.
“The Business Recovery Grant legislation directs us to reopen the application period if there is grant money remaining after the first application period,” said NCDOR Secretary Ronald Penny. “If you haven’t done so already, we encourage any eligible North Carolina business that suffered a financial loss because of the pandemic to apply immediately.”
Businesses that applied for a grant during the first application period may expect to receive communication from NCDOR about the status of their application and payment within the next week.
Federal law requires persons receiving grant awards in excess of $50,000 to provide additional information to the Department under various reporting requirements including the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA). The FFATA makes this information available online via a searchable website so that the public can access information on recipients of Federal funds. NCDOR will contact applicants that will be impacted by these federal requirements regarding next steps via email and US postal service.
Two types of grants are available to eligible businesses:
~A hospitality grant is available to an eligible arts, entertainment, or recreation business, as well as an eligible accommodation or food service business such as a hotel, restaurant, or bar (NAICS code 71 and 72);
~A reimbursement grant is available to an eligible business not classified in NAICS Code 71 and 72 and that did not receive funding from other relief programs including Paycheck Protection Program, COVID-19 Job Retention Grant, and EIDL Advance.
The grant amount is a percentage of the economic loss demonstrated by the eligible business or $500,000, whichever is less. Applications approved during the second application period may be funded at reduced amounts if the total grants requested exceed the maximum amount of funds authorized for the BRG program.
Eligible business owners are encouraged to apply online at www.ncdor.gov. More detailed information and answers to Frequently Asked Questions are also available on the agency website.
Feature photo: Village of Pinehurst by Sandhills Sentinel Photographer Melissa Schaub.
Contributed.
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