Every year in late summer SBA publishes an Information Notice setting the fees for 7(a) and 504 loans approved in the coming fiscal year. The FY 2027 notices came out on September 3, 2026 and take effect for loans approved from October 1, 2026. This guide sets out what they say, what changed from FY 2026, and how to compute the fee on a specific loan. Everything below is taken from the notices themselves, which are linked and mirrored at the end; the SBA guarantee fee calculator applies the same rules.
The FY 2027 7(a) upfront guaranty fee
The fee is charged on the SBA-guaranteed portion of the loan, but the rate tier is chosen by the gross loan amount (guaranteed plus unguaranteed). For loans with a maturity of more than 12 months:
| Gross loan amount | Upfront fee (on the guaranteed portion) |
|---|---|
| $150,000 or less | 2% — the lender may retain up to 25% of it (at least 1.5% goes to SBA) |
| $150,001 – $700,000 | 3% |
| $700,001 – $5,000,000 | 3.5% of the guaranteed portion up to $1,000,000, plus 3.75% of the guaranteed portion above $1,000,000 |
| Any amount, maturity of 12 months or less | 0.25% |
With SBA’s usual guaranty percentages — 85% for loans up to $150,000 and 75% above, capped at a $3.75 million guarantee — the fee works out to about 1.7% of a small loan and 2.25–2.76% of a larger one:
| Loan | Guaranteed | Fee | As % of loan |
|---|---|---|---|
| $150,000 | $127,500 (85%) | $2,550 | 1.70% |
| $350,000 | $262,500 (75%) | $7,875 | 2.25% |
| $700,000 | $525,000 | $15,750 | 2.25% |
| $1,000,000 | $750,000 | $26,250 | 2.63% |
| $2,000,000 | $1,500,000 | $35,000 + $18,750 = $53,750 | 2.69% |
| $5,000,000 | $3,750,000 | $35,000 + $103,125 = $138,125 | 2.76% |
Note the cliff at $700,000: a $700,000 loan pays 3% of $525,000 = $15,750, while a $700,001 loan pays 3.5% of $525,000.75 ≈ $18,375. The same cliff exists at $150,000 (2% → 3%, and the guaranty drops from 85% to 75%).
What changed: fee relief
| FY 2026 (Oct 1, 2025 – Sep 30, 2026) | FY 2027 (Oct 1, 2026 – Sep 30, 2027) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets a 0% upfront fee | Manufacturers (NAICS 31–33) | Manufacturers (NAICS 31–33), food supply-chain businesses (NAICS 1111, 1112, 1113, 1121, 1122, 1123, 1124, 1125, 1129, 1141, 1151, 1152, 423820, 4244, 4245, 424910, 445110, 484220¹, 484230¹, 493120, 493130), and businesses located in a rural area |
| Loan size limit for relief | $950,000 or less | $700,000 or less |
| Standard tiers, short-term rate, annual service fee | 2% / 3% / 3.5%+3.75%; 0.25%; 0.55% | unchanged |
| SBA Express to veteran-owned businesses | $0 upfront | $0 upfront |
¹ NAICS 484220 and 484230 are limited to refrigerated and frozen trucking, farm products, grain products, and livestock.
Two consequences. A manufacturer borrowing between $700,001 and $950,000 loses the waiver on October 1 — a $900,000 loan goes from $0 to about $23,625 in upfront fee, so an approval before September 30 is worth a lot. Conversely, a grocery store, farm-products wholesaler or any business at a rural address borrowing up to $700,000 gains a waiver worth up to $15,750.
Rural status is determined by SBA in E-Tran from Census Bureau data at the project address; the lender documents eligibility in the file. There is no self-certification — ask the lender to check the address before assuming a 0% fee.
Other 7(a) programs
- SBA Express: standard tiers apply (guaranty is 50%, so the dollar fee is lower); loans to businesses owned and controlled by a veteran or a veteran’s spouse pay $0 upfront.
- Working Capital Pilot (WCP): 0.25% (≤ 12 months), 0.525% (13–24), 0.80% (25–36), 1.075% (37–48), 1.35% (49–60 months) of the guaranteed portion.
- Export Working Capital (EWCP): 0.25% (≤ 12 months), 0.525% (13–24), 0.80% (25–36 months).
- Extending a short-term loan beyond 12 months triggers an additional fee, due within 30 days.
The 90-day rule
When two or more 7(a) loans (maturity over 12 months) are approved for the same applicant, including affiliates, within 90 days of each other — by the same or different lenders — they are treated as one loan for the guaranty percentage and the fee tier. The fee on the later loan is the fee on the combined amount minus the fee paid on the first, never below zero. Example: a $300,000 loan (fee 3% × $225,000 = $6,750) followed within 90 days by $500,000: combined $800,000 → 3.5% × $600,000 = $21,000, so the second loan owes $21,000 − $6,750 = $14,250 rather than $11,250. WCP and EWCP loans are not combined with other loans for the fee. Lenders may not split loans to avoid fees.
504 loans in FY 2027
| Standard 504 | Debt refinance without expansion | Manufacturers, food supply chain, rural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront guaranty fee | 0.50% | 0.50% | waived |
| Annual service fee | 0.203% of outstanding balance | 0.204% | waived |
Source: Information Notice 5000-881796.
The lender’s annual service fee
0.55% per year of the outstanding guaranteed balance in both FY 2026 and FY 2027, paid by the lender to SBA. The notice is explicit that lenders may not pass it on to the borrower; it is priced into the interest rate instead. On a $500,000 loan with a 75% guaranty that is $2,062.50 in year one, falling as the balance amortises.
Sources
- SBA Information Notice 5000-881797 — 7(a) Fees Effective October 1, 2026 for Fiscal Year 2027 and 90-Day Rule Clarification, published 2026-09-03 (PDF copy)
- SBA Information Notice 5000-881796 — 504 Fees for Fiscal Year 2027, published 2026-09-03 (PDF copy)
- SBA Information Notice 5000-872051 — 7(a) Fees Effective October 1, 2025 for Fiscal Year 2026, published 2025-08-28 (PDF copy)
- Guaranty percentages: SBA SOP 50 10 (lender’s approval governs)
SBA notices are U.S. government works reproduced here for reference. This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Small Business Administration and is not lending, legal or financial advice; fee amounts on a specific loan are set by SBA and the lender at approval.