Back to Business MS Grant Program

Back to Business Mississippi Grant Program

Governor Reeves recently signed SB2772 into law, establishing the Back to Business Mississippi Grant Program. The grants will be used to help businesses in Mississippi with 50 or fewer employees recover from the economic impact of COVID-19, including operating expenses and salaries.

The Mississippi Development Authority launched a website for the grant program and will open the application process soon. In the meantime, we strongly encourage all Mississippi businesses to review the eligibility requirements and sign up for email notifications on the Back to Business Mississippi website. 

Below is a list of some of the requirements businesses must meet in order to qualify for a Back to Business Mississippi grant.

1. The business must be a for-profit corporation, limited liability company, a partnership or a sole proprietorship.
2. The business must be in good standing with the Mississippi Secretary of State, if applicable.
3. The business must have suffered an interruption of business.
4. The business must have filed Mississippi taxes for tax year 2018 or 2019, or, for an eligible business formed on or after January 1, 2020, intend to file Mississippi taxes for tax year 2020, unless exempt under Section 27-7-29, Section 27-13-63 or other applicable provision of law.
5. The business must have customers or employees coming to its physical premises, conducts business on customer premises, or have an owner who is an active participant in the day-to-day operations of the business.

Click here to learn more about eligibility requirements.

Business Relief Payments

The Mississippi Department of Revenue is now issuing a $2,000 COVID-19 relief payment to eligible businesses through the Mississippi COVID-19 Relief Payment Fund. Mississippi Legislature recently passed legislation that provides $60 million of immediate relief to small businesses affected by the pandemic. Business owners DO NOT need to take any action to receive the $2,000 payment. The DOR will issue the payments to eligible business based on tax returns filed with its office and other information verified by other state agencies. Eligible taxpayers must:

• be a Mississippi resident or have a permanent permitted location in the state prior to March 1, 2020.
• have 50 or fewer employees and have an active sales or withholding account with the DOR.
• have filed income tax returns in 2018, 2019 or intends to file for 2020.

As of Tuesday, June 2, more than 9,000 business relief payments have been issued to businesses, totaling more than $18 million.

Click here to learn more about the COVID-19 Relief Payment Fund.

Main Street Lending Program

As part of its broad effort to support the economy, the Federal Reserve is expanding the scope and eligibility for the Main Street Lending Program. The program is designed to help credit flow to small and medium-sized businesses that were in sound financial condition before the pandemic.The availability of additional credit is intended to help companies maintain their operations and payroll until conditions improve.

The Main Street Lending Program program offers 4-year loans, with floating rates, and principal and interest payments, to assist businesses facing temporary cash flow interruptions. The loans range from $500,000 to $200 million to support a broad set of employers. The program is aimed at lending to entities that are too big for the Small Business Administrations’ Paycheck Protection Program and too small for other emergency credit facilities. Mississippians should note that:

Main Street Lending differs from other programs because loans must be repaid, and they require both the borrower and lender to be eligible for this program.

To get started, businesses can review the program parameters prior to approaching a lender, and visit the borrower’s page for additional information. Lenders interested in the program can start at the lender’s page, where operational information will be posted as it becomes available.

Click here for more information about the Main Street Lending program.

Safe Return Guidelines for DMV Reopening

Driver’s license stations across the state will reopen on Monday, June 8, under new guidelines. To ensure social distancing protocols, Mississippians will only be allowed to visit DMV stations on the day of the week that corresponds with the first letter of their last name. Here is the daily schedule for visits per last names:

• Monday: A-E
• Tuesday: F-L
• Wednesday: “Walk-in Wednesday”
  • Anyone is allowed to visit DMV stations on this day.
• Thursday: M-S
• Friday: T-Z

Services are limited to reduce the number of people visiting each station. The following services will be available at permanent driver license stations:

• CDL Transactions
• Out of State Transfers
• New Credentials
• New Identification Card Credentials
• Security Guard Permits (Wednesdays only)
• Sex Offender Registration
• Permit tests for students
• Reinstatements
• Non-U.S. Citizens
• Ignition-Interlock Restricted Licenses

Click here for more information about DMV reopenings.