11,000 Companies Exempt from COVID-19 Refunds

Already, about 11,000 self-employed individuals and small businesses in Saxony are exempt from having to repay the COVID-19 emergency aid they received. More than 90 percent of the approximately 12,000 applications submitted since July 2025 have been approved, according to a statement from the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Only 617 applications were rejected. The remaining cases are still pending. The option for an extended payment deadline has been utilized 5,125 times so far.

The pending cases are expected to be resolved by the end of the year. Applications can still be submitted.

Repayment Relief

In July 2025, the state legislature approved repayment relief for COVID-19 emergency aid to prevent businesses from being overwhelmed. These include interest relief and a flexible extension of the payment deadline by up to 36 months. Business owners may also be completely exempted from repayment. To qualify, total net income reported on the 2023 tax return must be less than 35,000 euros, and assets must not exceed 40,000 euros.

Many businesses and self-employed individuals had to operate under great uncertainty during the pandemic, which is why the repayment rules were simplified, said Economy Minister Dirk Panther (SPD), according to a press release. “The high number of approved applications shows that these improvements are making a difference for those affected.”

More than 672 million euros in emergency aid paid out in Saxony

The federal government’s COVID-19 emergency aid was intended to cushion the financial strain on micro-enterprises and self-employed individuals in 2020 caused by the first COVID-19 lockdown. In Saxony, over 84,000 recipients received more than 672 million euros. However, because they were often able to resume their activities much earlier than anticipated at the time of application, the grants were higher than originally provided for in the program.