Economic aid for November and December

The "November Aid" is an additional support for businesses, self-employed, associations and institutions that are particularly affected by the current Corona restrictions.

In view of the dynamic infection situation, the federal government and the German states decided in October to take measures to break the infection wave. For certain industries, this includes temporary closures. The extraordinary federal economic aid for November and December will now support those companies, self-employed persons, associations and institutions whose operations will be temporarily closed due to the measures required to cope with the pandemic, as well as those indirectly but comparably affected by the orders.

The economic aid is paid out as a one-time lump sum. The aim is to help those affected as unbureaucratically as possible. In particular, this involves the fixed costs that are incurred despite the temporary closure. In order to keep the procedure as simple as possible, these costs are approximated by the comparative turnover in the previous year. The following rules apply to this economic aid:

• Eligibility to apply: Companies, businesses, self-employed persons, associations and institutions directly affected by the temporary closures as well as indirectly affected companies are eligible to apply. All companies, businesses, self-employed persons, associations and facilities that had to cease business operations on the basis of closure ordinances issued by the federal states after the decision by the federal and state governments on October 28, 2020 count as directly affected. In addition to hotels, other lodging establishments and event venues also count as directly affected businesses. Indirectly affected businesses are all businesses that demonstrably and regularly generate 80 % of their sales from businesses directly affected by the closure measures or operate on their behalf. Affiliated companies - i.e. companies with several subsidiaries or operating sites - are eligible to apply if more than 80 % of their total association-wide sales are generated by directly or indirectly affected affiliated companies.

  

• Funding Level: Under the November/December aid, grants are awarded in the amount of 75 % of the average weekly turnover in November or December 2019 per week of closures. This applies up to a ceiling of EUR 1 million, provided the company's scope under state aid law permits this (EU small grants scheme). Grants in excess of EUR 1 million still require approval from the EU Commission, which the German government is working on. Solo self-employed persons can use the average weekly turnover in 2019 as an alternative to the weekly turnover in November or December 2019 as a basis for comparison. For companies that started business after October 31, 2019, the average weekly turnover in October 2020 or the average weekly turnover since incorporation may be chosen as the comparative turnover.

• Progress payments: A quick start on payments is critical to the survival of many solo self-employed individuals and businesses. Therefore, there are advance payments for November/December assistance. Applications can be submitted since the last week of November. Solo self-employed persons will receive a down payment of up to 5,000 euros, other companies will receive up to 10,000 euros. The procedure for regular payment of economic aid is being prepared and finalized in parallel so that it can be launched immediately after the advance payments.

• Performance credit: Other government benefits paid for the subsidy period are offset against the economic aid. This applies above all to benefits such as bridging assistance or short-time allowance.

• Revenue recognition: If sales are generated during the subsidy period despite the closure, these are not credited up to an amount of 25 % of the comparative sales. If the turnover exceeds this amount, it will be credited accordingly. Restaurants are subject to a special rule if they offer food for sale outside the restaurant. They receive the sales refund on 75 % of the sales in the comparison period only for the sales subject to the full VAT rate, i.e. the food consumed in the restaurant. Thus, the sales of out-of-home sales - to which the reduced tax rate applies - are excluded. In return, the sales of the out-of-home sales during the closures are excluded from the sales imputation in order to favor an expansion of this business.

  

• Application: Applications can be submitted via the standardized federal IT platform for bridging assistance. As with the bridging assistance, the electronic application must also be submitted by a tax advisor or auditor. For solo self-employed persons who do not apply for more than 5,000 euros, the obligation to submit the application via an auditing third party does not apply. You can also submit the application yourself online (https://www.ueberbrueckungshilfe-unternehmen.de/). The prerequisite for the application is an ELSTER certificate. The direct application for November/December aid can be submitted only once.