Small Business Administration (SBA) Financing

The SBA Veterans Advantage was designed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to help support veterans and eligible members of the military community establish or expand a business.

The SBA’s Veterans Advantage eliminates or reduces the upfront SBA guaranty fee on SBA loans for veterans and those who qualify as a veteran in the military community*. 

Benefits:

Veteran Fee Relief

• SBA 7(a) Loans – for all SBA 7(a) loans in the amount of $125,000 or less, the upfront guaranty fee will be 0%. This fee waiver includes both veteran-owned and non-veteran owned businesses.
• SBA Express Loans – For all SBA Express loans to qualified veteran-owned businesses, the upfront guaranty fee will be 0% up to the maximum loan amount of $350,000.

The SBA Veterans Advantage (Non-SBA Express Loans) - features upfront guaranty fees that are 50% less for veteran owned-businesses compared to non-veteran owned businesses on loan amounts between $125,001 up to $5,000,000. Fee discounts are based on loan amounts and terms.  

Download Program Guide

Get More Veteran-Owned Business Resources for starting, growing and running your business from SBA.gov »

*To qualify, the business must be 51% or more owned and controlled by an individual(s) in one or more of the following groups: Veterans (other than dishonorably discharged), Service-Disabled Veterans, Active Duty Military service member participating in the military's Transition Assistance Program (TAP), Reservists and National Guard Members, Current spouses of any of the previously listed and widowed spouses of a service member or veteran who died during service or of a service-connected disability.

Both growing and well established businesses can use the SBA 7(a) loan program to meet a variety of business credit needs.  The SBA 7(a) loan program features loan amounts up to $5 million and long-term financing.

The SBA 7(a) loan program can be used to finance commercial real estate, renovations or improvements; business acquisitions, expansions or start-ups; franchise purchase; equipment or inventory; working capital; or refinancing existing debt (certain restrictions apply).

Benefits

• No SBA guaranty fee – on loans less than $125,000
• Broad eligibility – loan proceeds may be used for a wide variety of business purposes 
  
• SBA guarantee program – assists businesses in qualifying for loans they want
• More flexible – often with longer repayment terms and lower down payments than conventional bank loans
• No prepayment fees – for loans with repayment terms less than 15 years

The SBA 504 loan program is for businesses that want to finance larger projects including commercial real estate, heavy equipment, construction and major renovations.

In addition, the SBA 504 loan program features a debt refinancing program which can help a business improve cash flow by lowering its monthly payments on existing conventional loan debt.

Benefits

• Low down payments – as little as 10% of the total project cost^[1]
• Longer repayment terms^[2] – up to 25 year repayment terms
• Larger dollar limits – enables a business to finance the cost of acquiring and/or constructing larger fixed assets such as commercial real estate and heavy equipment
• Competitive rates – providing more cash flow to use towards operating costs and the ability to fix the rate for a longer term.

The SBA Express loan program can be used to finance a wide variety of business purposes and features loan amounts up to $350,000 and a simpler application process (compared to other SBA loan programs).

SBA Express loans can be used to finance business acquisitions, expansions, franchise financing, Commercial Real Estate purchase, working capital and equipment and can be issued as a term loan or a line of credit.

 Benefits

• No SBA guaranty fee – on loans less than $125,000
• Easier application processing – simple loan application process expedites loan turnaround
• SBA guarantee program – assists businesses in qualifying for loans they want
• More flexible – Often with longer repayment terms and lower down payments than conventional bank loans
• No prepayment fees – for loans with repayment terms less than 15 years

The SBA Export Express loan program provides businesses that export product internationally access to credit to help them grow or expand their business globally and features loan amounts up to $500,000.

The SBA Export Express loan program provides financing to help a company’s export development. For example, funds can be used to finance the cost of goods for exporting, purchase goods or services to support exporting business, and to finance long-term, fixed assets.

Benefits

• Streamlined exporting loan program – simple loan application process expedites loan turnaround
• No SBA guaranty fee – on loans less than $125,000
• SBA guarantee program – assists businesses to qualify for loans they want
• More flexible – often with longer repayment terms and lower down payments than conventional bank loans