If you have a COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan, your first payment is due 30 months after the date printed on your original promissory note. If you have a standard (non-COVID) EIDL from a hurricane, wildfire, or other declared disaster, the first payment is due five months after the note date. Interest, however, started accruing the day the money hit your account, so the balance you owe on day one of repayment is larger than the amount you borrowed.
Finding Your COVID EIDL First Payment Date
Pull out your original promissory note and look at the disbursement date. Count forward 30 months. That is your first payment due date. A loan disbursed in July 2020 came due around January 2023. A loan disbursed in late 2021 did not come due until mid-2024. Most COVID EIDL borrowers saw payments begin sometime between mid-2022 and late-2024.
The 30-month figure is the product of several extensions. The SBA started with a 12-month deferment in 2020, extended it to 24 months in September 2021, and then to 30 months in March 2022 under Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman.1U.S. Small Business Administration. SBA Administrator Guzman Announces Key Policy Change for Existing COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan Borrowers The 30-month clock still runs from the original note date, not from the date of the extension.
One boundary worth noting: the EIDL advance (or grant) of up to $10,000, and the supplemental targeted advance of up to $5,000 more for the smallest businesses in low-income areas, do not have to be repaid.2U.S. Small Business Administration. About Targeted EIDL Advance and Supplemental Targeted Advance Only the loan itself carries the 30-year term and monthly payments.
Interest Ran the Whole Time
Deferment paused payments, not interest. Interest accrued from the disbursement date at the loan’s fixed rate: 3.75% for businesses and 2.75% for nonprofits.3Journal of Accountancy. SBA Again Extends Deferment Period for EIDL Payments That accrued interest was added to the balance, which is why many borrowers began repayment owing more than the original loan amount.
Voluntary payments during the deferment period were allowed with no penalty, and they reduced the interest that ultimately capitalized. Borrowers who paid nothing during the 30 months face a larger principal and a balloon payment at the end of the 30-year term to cover the shortfall.4U.S. Small Business Administration. Manage Your EIDL Some owners have reported that their monthly payments barely reduce the principal at all.5Every CRS Report. COVID-19 EIDL and Emergency EIDL Grants
How To Make a Payment
All COVID-19 EIDL payments go through the SBA Loan Portal at lending.sba.gov. Log in to see your balance, monthly payment amount, and due date. You can pay once or set up recurring payments using a bank account, debit card, or PayPal. Phone payments are available at 833-853-5638 (TTY: 711) using a debit card or ACH.6U.S. Small Business Administration. Make a Payment to SBA
Mailed checks are no longer accepted. Starting October 1, 2025, the SBA stopped taking checks in compliance with a presidential executive order on modernizing government payments, and any check received after that date is returned to the sender.6U.S. Small Business Administration. Make a Payment to SBA There is no prepayment penalty, so paying early or paying extra costs nothing.7U.S. Small Business Administration. About COVID-19 EIDL
If You Can’t Make the Payment
The SBA offers a Hardship Accommodation Plan that cuts your monthly payment by 50% for six months. To qualify, your loan must be less than 90 days past due, and the program can only be used once every five years. You apply through the SBA Loan Portal and need to provide a reasonable explanation for the temporary hardship.8U.S. Small Business Administration. Small Business Administration Announces Further Action To Help PPP and COVID EIDL Borrowers Loans already charged off are not eligible.4U.S. Small Business Administration. Manage Your EIDL
Interest is not waived during the reduced-payment period. It keeps accruing, which increases the balloon payment at the end of the 30-year term. When the six months end, full payments resume.4U.S. Small Business Administration. Manage Your EIDL
COVID EIDLs cannot be forgiven. Borrowers may submit an Offer in Compromise (SBA Form 1150) to settle for less than the full amount, but only after all pledged collateral has been liquidated.9U.S. Small Business Administration. SBA Form 1150 – Offer in Compromise
What Happens If You Stop Paying
Miss a payment and the SBA sends demand notices about every 30 days. At 90 days past due, the loan is delinquent. At 120 days, the SBA is required to refer the debt to the Treasury Offset Program, which can intercept federal tax refunds, Social Security payments, and federal salary or contractor payments.10SBA Office of Inspector General. SBA’s Collection Efforts on Delinquent COVID-19 EIDLs (Report 25-23)
Collection got tougher in September 2025. Through March 2026, a Treasury exemption had kept delinquent COVID EIDLs out of Treasury’s Cross-Servicing program and even returned earlier referrals to the SBA. That exemption was not extended, and the SBA began sending delinquent COVID EIDL debts back to Cross-Servicing. Treasury has said it will not return them.11U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Debt Management – Contact Once a debt is in Cross-Servicing, borrowers can expect collection notices from Treasury contractors, potential administrative wage garnishment, and a surcharge of up to 30% added to the balance.5Every CRS Report. COVID-19 EIDL and Emergency EIDL Grants
Standard (Non-COVID) EIDL Payments
If your EIDL came from a regular declared disaster rather than the COVID program, the first payment is due five months from the note date. For certain disasters declared between September 2022 and September 2023, the SBA offered a 12-month deferment with no interest during the first year.12U.S. Small Business Administration. U.S. Small Business Administration To Offer Disaster Loans at No Interest and No Payments for First Year The standard EIDL program caps interest at 4% and requires collateral above $50,000, compared to the COVID program’s $25,000 threshold.13U.S. Small Business Administration. Economic Injury Disaster Loans
Whatever type of EIDL you hold, the exact first-payment date lives on your promissory note. Log in to the SBA Loan Portal to confirm the amount and due date the agency has on file for your account.