Facing corona-related financial problems? Help is at hand!

Whether you are a large or small business owner, a freelancer or on a permanent contract, coronavirus is bound to have an impact on your financial affairs. The experts at FvB De Boer Financial Advisors have drawn up a list of useful information to help you keep your finances safe.

Mortgage payments

If you are worried that you might face problems when it comes to making your mortgage payments, contact your bank directly.

Many banks and other mortgage providers, including Rabobank, ABN Amro and Nationale-Nederlanden, are offering their customers a three months grace period on their mortgage payments. In other words, you may be able to skip both interest and lump sum repayments for a three-month period to tide you over.

To apply, contact your bank. You will have to show the bank evidence of why you expect your income to drop. Be sure to check if there are any costs involved. In most cases, you will have until December 2021 to catch up on your missed payments.

Personal loans

Here too you can apply for a three-month pause in payments. Most banks have said they are willing to extend the duration of the repayment period. This would mean, for example, that a 60-month loan would become 63 months. To apply, contact your bank directly.

Business loans

Contact your bank on time if you are worried about your company’s ability to make repayments. ABN Amro is automatically deferring payments for business loans for a period of six months.

If you do not want payments to be deferred, you must contact ABN Amro as soon as you can to inform them.

Government measures

The government has come up with a package of measures to help companies get through the corona crisis.

Guarantees

The SME Credit Guarantee Scheme is a ruling through which the government will guarantee 90% of the business loans granted by banks for a maximum of two years. If you are the owner of a BV, you will have to take care of the other 10%.

There are some conditions attached. The maximum loan is 1.5 million euros and your company should have no more than 250 employers. You must also establish a reasonable expectation that your company will be viable after the crisis. The scheme does not cover companies operating in real estate or financial services. For further details, contact your bank.

Support for the self-employed

The government has set up a scheme to help the self-employed make up their income to basic levels. The temporary bridging measure for the self-employed, Tozo, is in the form of a gift rather than a loan and will be paid out by your local council. Contact your local council to apply.

Noodloket (Emergency Fund)

Businesses who have lost all or almost all of their turnover can apply for a one-off government grant of 4.000 euros. The money has been allocated to help companies pay fixed costs such as rent. People and companies based at home are not eligible. Apply to the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).

Discount on micro-finance interest payments

The government has also agreed to make 6 million euros available in micro-finance loans for small firms at a temporary interest rate of 2% and with six months deferred payments. Contact Qredits for more information.

Income and other taxes

Any company affected by coronavirus can apply to defer their tax payments for a three-month period. This applies to income tax, corporate tax, tax on salaries and VAT. No interest will be charged on delayed tax payments. Apply to the tax office to take part.

Emergency measure to prevent immediate job losses

Businesses which have lost at least 20% of their turnover since March 1 can apply for help in paying salaries under the emergency bridging measure (NOW). The payments are made on the condition that companies do not fire staff as well. Details are still being worked out and the government will announce more information shortly.

If you would like to talk about your concerns for your personal or company finances, the team at FvB De Boer Financial Advisors is ready to listen.