CEBA Deadline Checklist: Your Week-by-Week Plan to Pay Off by December 31, 2026

What exactly is due on December 31, 2026?

Since January 19, 2024, every unpaid CEBA loan has been a three-year term loan at 5% simple interest per year. Simple interest means you pay interest only on the amount you borrowed, not on unpaid interest. You have been paying interest only. You have not had to pay down the principal (the amount you borrowed).

That ends on December 31, 2026. On that date, the full principal plus any accrued interest is due. Accrued interest is interest that has built up but has not been paid yet. The Department of Finance and the official CEBA Program site both confirm this date.

The forgiveness deal is gone. Owners who repaid by January 18, 2024 (or March 28, 2024, if they applied to refinance in time) had up to $20,000 forgiven. Both deadlines have passed, and there are no exceptions.

Here is what the 5% has cost, assuming the balance never went down:

5% simple interest over 1,077 days. Your exact amount comes from your payoff statement.

If you have kept up your monthly interest payments, you will mostly owe the principal plus the interest since your last payment. Your bank or credit union can give you a payoff statement: the exact amount it takes to close the loan on a given date.

Why aim for December 18 instead of December 31?

December 31, 2026 is a Thursday. Christmas Day is Friday, December 25. Boxing Day falls on Saturday, December 26, so it is observed on Monday, December 28, and many banks and credit unions are closed that day. That leaves only three business days in the last week: December 29, 30 and 31.

Payments also take time to post. BMO says a CEBA payment may take up to 3 business days to appear on the loan. Laurentian Bank says 5 to 6 business days. A payment sent on December 29 may not post until January.

Sending your payment by Friday, December 18 leaves seven business days of buffer before the deadline. If something goes wrong, there is still time to fix it.

What should I do each week before the deadline?

This week (October 26 to November 1): know your number

1. Get your payoff amount from online banking or ask your bank or credit union for a payoff statement.
2. Check that your monthly interest payments are up to date. If you have missed any, call your bank now. Missed payments make refinancing harder.
3. Look at your cash. Can you pay the full balance from savings without putting payroll, rent or suppliers at risk?
4. Pick your path: pay from cash, refinance with a new loan, or, if neither is realistic, prepare for a CRA payment arrangement (see below).

Weeks 2 and 3 (November 2 to 15): ask your own bank or credit union first

1. Call the bank or credit union that holds your CEBA loan. Ask if it will give you a term loan or line of credit to pay it off. This option usually costs the least and is the simplest.
2. Ask how long approval takes and whether the new loan can pay off CEBA directly.
3. If the answer is no, or you will not have a decision by mid-November, compare online lenders.
4. Gather your documents: your payoff statement, recent business bank statements, your latest financial statements or tax return, government ID and business registration details. Each lender sets its own list.

Weeks 4 to 6 (November 16 to December 4): apply and get funded

1. Apply. Answer every question truthfully, and explain anything unusual in your bank statements up front, such as a large one-time deposit or a slow month.
2. Compare offers on the total cost repaid, including fees, not just the rate. Ask whether you can pay the new loan off early to save interest.
3. Aim to have the money in your business account by Friday, December 4.

Weeks 7 and 8 (December 7 to 18): pay it off and get proof

1. Ask for an updated payoff amount for the day you will pay. Interest builds up daily, so last month's figure may be a few dollars short.
2. Pay the full balance using your bank's own method. Our guides cover RBC, TD, BMO, CIBC, Scotiabank and Desjardins.
3. Send it by Friday, December 18.
4. A few business days later, check that the balance shows $0. Ask for written confirmation that the loan is paid and closed, and keep it with your records.

Final stretch (December 21 to 31): buffer, not a plan

Use these days only to confirm your payment posted. If you have not paid by now, call your bank or credit union before December 24 and ask exactly what it needs from you and by when.

How much does it cost to refinance a CEBA loan?

More than CEBA did. At 5%, a $60,000 CEBA loan costs $250 a month in interest. A new loan will usually charge a higher rate and repay the principal over a short term, so the payment is much larger.

Here is an example. It uses a 20% annual rate, which sits inside the ranges online lenders publish, and equal monthly payments. Your rate, fees and payment schedule may differ.

Example only, before fees. Many online loans are repaid daily or weekly, which changes the payment amount but not the idea.

The real question is whether your business can carry that payment. A useful test: would the new payment still leave room for a slow month?

If your own bank says no, these are the three online lenders ceba.ca compares, in alphabetical order. Figures were checked in October 2026.

ceba.ca may earn a referral fee if you get financing through a lender we link to. It does not change what we write or the order lenders appear in. How we make money

Checked October 2026. Sources: driven.ca; Finder and Loans Canada reviews. Confirm current terms with each lender.

When does refinancing not make sense?

Refinancing only helps if there is a practical way to repay the new loan. If there is not, you are swapping a 5% debt for a more expensive one. In Garron's experience, refinancing is usually the wrong move when:

• The business has stopped operating, or has not operated for a while. Bankruptcy or a proposal may be the better path. Speak to a Licensed Insolvency Trustee.
• The business cannot carry the new payment from its normal revenue.
• Your credit score is very low. Applying to a bank or online lender is unlikely to lead anywhere.

Here is what happens instead if the loan is not repaid. Your bank or credit union will ask for a lump-sum payment. If it is still unpaid, the bank will likely assign the loan to the government's CEBA Program for collection. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) helps collect assigned loans and may set up a payment arrangement based on what you can afford, reviewed case by case. The CRA can also deduct unpaid amounts from your tax refunds and federal benefits.

A CRA payment arrangement can cost less. On $60,000 at the CEBA rate of 5%, interest is at most $250 a month, and less as you pay the balance down. In the first month of the 20% loan above, interest alone is about $1,000. Refinancing still wins for some owners: it keeps the file out of collections, protects tax refunds and federal benefits from being deducted, and closes the CEBA file cleanly before January.

Two things do not change. The loan must be repaid even if the business closes. And if you are a sole proprietor or partner, you are personally liable for it. Ignoring letters from your bank or the CRA is never a plan. For a full side-by-side, read Refinance or go to CRA collections? and how CRA payment plans work.

Frequently asked questions

This article is general information, not financial or legal advice. ceba.ca is an independent website and is not affiliated with the Government of Canada or any financial institution.